84. Sleepkiller 2: Is sleepwalking a valid legal defence?

Explicit content warning

01/05/23 • 33 min

On the 22nd of May 1987 Kenneth Parks killed his mother-in-law and almost killed her husband. He claims he was asleep with amnesia for most of the event. The burden of proof is now on the defence. How can he prove that he was asleep? And if he can, does it mean he will walk free?

In this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen investigate how sleep scientists can examine our brainwaves to see whether we are conscious or awake. Can stress, anxiety, or sleep deprivation make us more likely to sleepwalk? What is the legal defence of “non-insane automatism”, and why is it so incredibly hard to argue in a courtroom?

CREDITS Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter Editor: Anna Lacey Music: Matt Chandler

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland

#BadPeople_BBC

CREDITS Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter Editor: Anna Lacey Music: Matt Chandler

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland

#BadPeople_BBC

Previous Episode

83. Sleepkiller 1: Can you murder someone while dreaming?

On the 22nd of May 1987 Kenneth Parks got into his car and drove 27 km up a three-lane highway to his beloved parents-in-law's home. He claims he was asleep through his horrific actions until he woke up with blood dripping from his hands.

In this episode of Bad People, Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen look into the science of sleepwalking, sleep terrors, and related parasomnias. What is REM sleep? What are we capable of while asleep? What kind of sleep disruptions are normal? And is there a link between “disorders of arousal” and violence?

CREDITS Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter Editor: Anna Lacey Music: Matt Chandler

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland

#BadPeople_BBC

Next Episode

85. Bad People x Bad Blood

In November 2018 Chinese scientist Dr He Jiankui made a big announcement; he had illegally “edited” the DNA of Chinese twin girls Lulu and Nana in an attempt to prevent them from contracting HIV. The news made global headlines and the scientific community reacted with horror. But why is it so controversial to mess with our genes?

Dr Julia Shaw is joined by geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford to discuss the dangers of gene editing and how it relates to Nazism and the dark history of trying to breed “better people”, the subject of Adam’s BBC Radio 4 series Bad Blood: The History of Eugenics.

CREDITS Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Dr Adam Rutherford Producer: Laura Northedge Assistant Producer: Hannah Ward Editor: Anna Lacey Music: Matt Chandler

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland

#BadPeople_BBC

Clip: The He Lab “About Lulu and Nana: Twin Girls Born Healthy After Gene Surgery As Single-Cell Embryos”