"Y'see, Hillary, I had a little weed with some shrooms..."
Posted on 06/17/2025 8:52:37 AM PDT by jerod
Rare ruling highlights controversial legal debate around violence pegged to extreme intoxication
WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
On a Friday night in March 2019, Leon-Jamal Daniel Barrett concluded that humanity was corrupt and his only means to save it was by having "sexual congress" with a woman chosen by God.
The fact Barrett took magic mushrooms in the hours before coming to this realization would later prove pivotal to his being found not guilty for what happened next.
"He waited at his house for this woman to come," wrote Surrey provincial court judge Timothy Hinkson.
"When she did not, he left his home, believing that if he walked anywhere, God would eventually bring them together."
Intoxication to the point of 'automatism' Instead of a woman chosen by God, Barrett encountered a terrified stranger, who fought him as he knocked her to the ground, tried to kiss her and "smashed" her left breast before removing his clothes, pushing her down a set of steps and trying to pull her jeans off.
In a decision delivered in March but posted last week, Hinkson acquitted Barrett of sexual assault, breaking and entering, and wilfully obstructing a police officer after he argued the magic mushrooms put him in a state of automatism that rendered him not criminally liable for his actions.
The case, which the judge called "unusual," highlights the long and controversial legal history surrounding horrific acts of violence and claims of automatism — a term describing unconscious, involuntary behaviour.
Although the incident happened in 2019, Barrett's trial was put on hold while the Supreme Court of Canada considered another case in which a naked Calgary man beat a university professor with a broom handle after consuming magic mushrooms and copious amounts of alcohol.
In 2022, the nation's top court struck down a section of the Criminal Code meant to prevent people from arguing extreme intoxication as a defence for offences such as sexual assault, assault, and breaking and entering.
Section 33.1 has since been amended, but the new rules did not apply to Barrett.
'She bit his tongue as hard as she could'
According to the ruling, "there is no doubt as to whether or not Mr. Barrett did what he is accused of."
Barrett, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, was living in his aunt's basement suite and working for a landscaping company when he decided to eat some magic mushrooms an hour or so after smoking cannabis while relaxing after work...
Well, gee, Susan Atkins could’ve used this defense.
I know this is in Canada, but I am tired here of attorneys/defendants using this as an affirmative defense. If you take a drug/alcohol then commit a crime, I don’t give a crap, you are guilty. It’s not a get out of jail free card. You did it regardless of your voluntary state of mind.
The same can be said of some cases of “mental illness” like self-inflicted depression. If you made choices and your life sucks big whoop.
Coming soon to a hippy commune near you.
If you decide to ingest “magic mushrooms”, shouldn’t that be key factor? You were aware of what might happen…unconscious and involuntary behavior…so that makes you responsible for your conduct afterwards. This judge was not very wise.
Did he voluntarily consume the mushrooms? Yes? Then he’s responsible for what happened next.
Just WOW, automatism is a legal defense!?!?
Well, I guess it makes sense Vancouver is the dxpe capital of Canakistan.
Yes. He voluntarily took the drugs when he was sober and in his right mind...and knowing how hallucinogenic drugs could affect him. It was HIS voluntary action that caused the problem.
I cannot believe they only take account of his actions when he was blotto.
Many years ago, I developed my “Concrete Bunker” theory of psychoactive drug use: Folks should be allowed to consume any drug(s) they want, in any quantity they want, as often as they want, provided only that they are confined within a concrete bunker while doing so and only released when the effects wear off.
>>>while doing so and only released when the effects wear off.
Does it ever wear off were such a acceptance of flashbacks?
If it hasn’t already.
Outrageous! So if a drunk gets in his car and kills another careful of people, it’s not his fault, because the alcohol was responsible?
"Y'see, Hillary, I had a little weed with some shrooms..."
“I know this is in Canada, but I am tired here of attorneys/defendants using this as an affirmative defense. If you take a drug/alcohol then commit a crime, I don’t give a crap, you are guilty. It’s not a get out of jail free card. You did it regardless of your voluntary state of mind.”
Yes.. Recently in Mass. An illegal ran over and killed a person. The argument was as a indigenous person he “lacked the enzymes” to process alcohol. And was therefore Not responsible.
The judge/ court agreed. and freed him.
So people who were overly dependent on them suffered from true "automatism".
Good Lord! Just how many ways to avoid responsibility and accountability can LIB nitwits create?????
Canada: “It was just a woman. Maybe she was asking for it”.
Liberals come full circle.
I can’t say that the “theory” is fully developed ... but even if released, a druggie experiencing flashbacks must be held completely responsible for his actions.
My main point is that the “war on drugs” is an abject failure ... people who want to dope themselves do so in spite of it. Instead, let them fry their brains ... just completely isolate them from normal humans when they’re under the influence.
Considering how mental illnesses and depravities are now considered "alternate lifestyles" deserving special protections we antiquated types don't...
And how a human-trafficking illegal alien wife-beater was magically transformed into a hard-working Maryland dad...
And how expired misdemeanors were resurrected as high crime felonies for the sole purpose of smearing a good man while traitors and villains get bail-less release or free passes...
And how permanent surgical mutilations were renamed "gender affirming care".
I never know anymore if I'm reading satire or actual news. That surprise has been replaced with exasperated weariness at each new atrocity the Leftists inflict on our nation.
If we get nuked I'm hoping for fast atomization. Meanwhile I'll fight the entropy.
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