The trial of 19 year old Daniel Asiedu, the prime suspect in the murder of the late MP for Abuakwa North, J.B Danquah-Adu- took another turn in court Tuesday; when the trial judge refused a motion for psychiatric evaluation for the accused.
The defence had filed a motion seeking psychiatric evaluation for their client, but the judge threw it out.
According to him, the defendant’s demeanour did not depict someone with a mental illness, as he had answered all questions asked of him in court. Trial judge Stephen Owusu apparently determined this by asking him inane questions like where he hailed from and if he knew his mother.
The defence also complained about the treatment the accused was receiving at the BNI, where he has been placed in solitary, and faced severe restrictions other inmates do not suffer from. Asiedu’s lawyer, Augustine Obuor, complained that was contrary to his client’s human rights, as he was being treated as guilty until proven innocent, when the opposite is rather what holds true in law.
The case has been adjourned till March 14.
The worry here is judges taking it upon themselves to determine the mental competence or otherwise of people standing trial, when professionals actually exist to carry out that function.
It’s true that moving for the insanity defence is somehow becoming popular in some cases, but it still doesn’t give a judge the locus to determine people’s sanity, especially by such an absurd criteria like ‘they look and sound normal’. There are mental patients who could charm the pants off of Mother Theresa herself.
It happened in the case of Charles Antwi, and it was later determined he was actually mentally disturbed. We need our judges to stop pretending they are psychiatrists.