Doc found not guilty by reason of insanity

A JURY has taken less than two hours to find former Royal Hobart Hospital doctor Arlene Maree Taylor not guilty by reason of insanity after she assaulted a nurse.

Dr Taylor, 35, was a patient at the hospital’s psychiatric intensive care unit when she grabbed a nurse in a headlock and dragged her out of her bedroom on September 24, 2015.

Dr Taylor, who represented herself in a trial that lasted three days in the Supreme Court in Hobart, previously told the jury she did not dispute that a scuffle had taken place.

In her closing submissions yesterday, Dr Taylor held back tears as she told the jury she was “not on trial here for having a mental health history”.

“In the context that I am an individual with no prior convictions of assault on another person and of otherwise good character, the repeated inference of the Crown that I am more likely to have intended to assault a person based on having a mental health history leads me to conclude that the state of Tasmania, as represented by the Crown’s Mr Jacobs in this matter, still holds the outdated and incorrect belief that individuals with mental health concerns are more likely to be perpetrators of violence than those without,” Dr Taylor told the court.

She also said she was “appalled” by the “unfounded stigma” towards people experiencing mental health conditions.

Crown prosecutor Tony Jacobs responded to Dr Taylor’s assertions in his closing submission.

“I suggest it was a proper, reasonable and desirable thing for the Crown to call on appropriate psychiatrists to give their opinions in a complicated matter like this,” Mr Jacobs said.

Mr Jacobs told the court both doctors who testified agreed Dr Taylor suffered from a brief period of temporary insanity.

“So, with respect, I would suggest that your verdict should be not guilty on the grounds of insanity. That doesn’t mean quite the same thing as a verdict of not guilty because other decisions have to be made by his honour in the context of that mental incapacity,” he said.

Dr Taylor also told the court the two witnesses provided by the Crown had differing accounts of the matter.

Psychiatric nurse Jennifer Symonds told the court this week she saw her colleague being strangled by Dr Taylor.

“[Symonds] contradicts herself … she was also unable to say which arm was used in the headlock. It’s unlikely she truly has a clear picture of the moment in her mind, a clear memory of that headlock,” Dr Taylor said.

The doctor admitted to the court her actions on the day of the altercation were “due to temporary insanity that can be attributed to involuntary intoxication”.

Dr Taylor referred to the high amount of clonazepam in her system at the time of the attack — equating to 45 valium tablets.

“I am autistic and the evidence presented is there is a high risk of aggression and agitation for individuals who are autistic when prescribed clonazepam,” she said.