Policing lunatics

[Paul Kearney A.K.A. NEMO]

In a current case an ex-convict and cocaine user was released from custody, only to randomly stab a young girl to death

He was convicted of manslaughter and sectioned under the mental health act but I noted that the police were unable to speak to him since his arrest because they could not legally do so while he was being "psychologically evaluated"

[Jennifer Shelden]

That is interesting ,fair I suppose ,anything toy say and all that .
I have to say policing lunatics is what drew me to look
not what I thought it would be but interesting ,!

[Paul Kearney A.K.A. NEMO]

Hi Jen

Without really knowing what went on with this man in a legal sense, I thought it untoward that the police would not get a look-in after his arrest for a brutal murder

Perhaps this is also relevant to the JtR case in that the police at the time appeared to have "difficulty" in dealing with Kosminski, similarly with Isenschmid IIRC in that access to him was denied by medicos

Would it have been considered unacceptable to the public to say that JtR had been caught but would not hang because he was insane?

Anderson and others appear to use the phrase "safely caged" and "incarcerated" in an asylum to counter any adverse opinion about Kosminski

I think a majority would be more interested in punishing JtR rather than treating him for an illness

If tried, as with this modern murderer, would it be acceptable to only convict JtR of manslaughter?

[Robert Linford]

Hi Nemo

Presumably there would be no trial because, if the Ripper was insane, he would be found unfit to plead. That probably wouldn't play well with the public. But if the police were able to charge him on something more minor, and he was unfit to plead, they could still put him away in Broadmoor, or maybe some other asylum, and the public would never know that he had "got off" until later.