Man cleared of assault on police officers due to insanity

A court has cleared a man of a number of charges in connection to an assault on police officers in Vittoriosa, after medical experts testified that the man suffered from a chronic mental illness that affected his will.

The accused, whose name is subject to a ban on publication, was charged with assaulting and threatening police constables, violently resisting arrest, causing slight injuries to one of officers, breaching the peace and disobeying police orders on December 27 last year in Triq it-Torri San Gwann, Vittoriosa.

Magistrate Joseph Mifsud heard psychiatrist Joseph Spiteri certify that the accused had not been of sound mind at the time of the incident, adding however, that his condition had since improved with treatment.

The court expert advised against sending the man to Mount Carmel Hospital, however, saying this would be cruel and counterproductive.

The court was in a forgiving frame of mind, opining that in addition to that laid down by the law, the case also needed to be given "a sense of reconciliatory justice, mercy and hope.”

In its sentence, the court made reference to pronouncements by various Christian leaders, including a 2013 address on the issue by Pope Francis, a recent pastoral letter by bishops Charles Scicluna and Mario Grech on how the negative effects of illness were not only felt by the sick themselves but also the people closest to them.

Waxing lyrical, the sentence also quotes, in full, an inspirational poem by Mother Theresa of Calcutta, praising the beauty and of life.

In view of his mental condition, the court absolved the man of all criminal responsibility and placed him under a two-year treatment order.

Inspector Hubert Cini prosecuted.