Irish court finds homeless, drug-crazed, bi-polar man guilty of airport rampage - VIDEO
Posted on Monday, June 25, 2012 at 09:50 AM
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Edmond Stapleton (38) hijacked a Garda Traffic Corps' vehicle in Cork City center after threatening to kill the patrolling officer at knife-point.
He then drove the vehicle to Cork Airport, several miles from the city center, where he broached the perimeter fence, and engaged in a dramatic high-speed chase with law enforcement officers around the airport's ramp area, before being finally being arrested.
Stapleton attempted to ram police and airport security vehicles several times during the frantic game of cat and mouse, and missed an aircraft full of passengers boarding for a charter flight by mere inches.
The dramatic footage was captured on camera by a bystander waiting to board a flight, and went viral on YouTube several hours after being posted.
Despite a four and a half hour deliberation at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Stapleton was found guilty on all 12 counts he was tried for by prosecutors.
His defense lawyers had tried to argue that Stapleton was legally insane at the time of the incident, but the argument didn't hold sway with the jury.
Dr Paul O'Connell of the Mater Central Hospital, Dublin, said that Stapleton's actions were consistent with behavior seen during the manic phase of bi-polar disorder, a serious mental health problem which causes sufferers to oscillate wildly between manic highs and depressive abysses.
However Irish insanity legislation does not allow for the defense to be pleaded if the insanity was induced through alcohol or (recreational) drugs; Stapleton's legal team were unable to convince the jury that this wasn't the probably explanation for his actions after he tested positive for an almost unheard of cocktail of drugs after being tested by police (specifically: cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, and benzodiazepines!).
Sentencing was adjourned until next Wednesday.
5 Comments
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bob40wil | Jun 26, 2012, 12:54 PM EDT
The Police over there sould get some cars with juice and they could have caught him and pit maneuvered him.
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Mousemess | Jun 26, 2012, 11:13 AM EDT
Curitiba,
The main concern is clearly the public safety in this instance, and anybody can say the drink or the drugs made them do this. This guy is an adult and it's time he decided to get a grip on his life and on himself or face a life in prison or on the streets. He made those bad choices about drugs he tested positive for and the public in a supposedly secured environment like this airport didn't cause him his predicament. He did that to himself and time for him to take responsibility for his own life and to get help if that's what it takes to straighten himself out.
Or if he's bipolar, it's up to him to get the help he needs to stay on an even keel. I know of a bipolar man who refused doctors' advice and medical help and who is as far as I know to this very day a mess from his bi-polar condition.
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Curitiba | Jun 25, 2012, 02:29 PM EDT
A nation can place whatever restrictions it likes on welfare. It can commit people to destitution by removing their welfare, say after a 2 year period. However, one thing they cannot really cut back on is the justice system. So if destitute people are getting themselves thrown in prison to get away from freezing to death on the streets, there is no way the government can putting them inside, if they commit a serious crime. Prisons have to comply to certain international standards, they can't simply treat prisoners how they like, and so the basic standard of living in the can far exceeds that of living on the street. So welfare funding is simply diverted to prison funding. So it turns out governments cannot simply withdraw welfare funding and wash their hands of people. The problem is simply shifted from welfare to justice.
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Curitiba | Jun 25, 2012, 02:17 PM EDT
In a way, he is being rewarded for this. Instead of going back to sleeping in a shop doorway, the State now has to give him accommodation for the next few years. When they release him from prison, he'll probably do something else to get himself locked up. In these desperate times, homeless people are reasoning that their only hope of getting off the streets is to commit a serious crime. if they do a bit of shoplifting, that's no good because they're straight back out again, searching for food in bins and being beaten by thugs on a night out, then sleeping on a cold, hard pavement. They then reason that if they do something spectacular, they will get 3 square meals a day, free clothes which are regularly washed, access to proper washing facilities and a bed inside a warm building. They don't have to beg or worry about money, the food is served up to them and they get free cigarettes as well. They also get access to doctors for free. So the justice system ends up being a form of welfare for the destitute.
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