I’ve heard of Spider bites causing festering and sores, of even limbs having to be amputated at times. But below is the first time I’ve heard of it being used as a defense.
An Australian man who kidnapped and raped a woman blamed his actions on a spider, local media reported on Thursday.
Philip Spiers pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape, but told a court that the poison from a funnel-web spider bite had left him with a viral illness which led to his actions.
But a toxicologist told the New South Wales state District Court there was no medical evidence to suggest a spider bite could be responsible for anger and hatred.
Spiers, who kidnapped and raped the woman in 1997, was sentenced on Wednesday to eight years in jail.
[Reuters]
OK, the insanity plea has been used many times to explain stupidity. Or as an excuse for doing something wrong. And it always peeved me when someone gets off from a crime because they “weren’t in their right mind when they did it.”
In this case I can’t imagine how he thought the defese would work.
