News & Politics - Rapist's spider defense fails

Lain · 11-03-2007, 12:41 PM

Rapist's 'spider' defence fails
An Australian man who reportedly claimed a toxic spider bite compelled him to rape a woman has been jailed after a judge rejected his defence.

Philip Ronald Spiers subjected a woman to a four-hour ordeal after abducting her in a car park in Maitland, 160km (100 miles) north of Sydney in 1997.

Spiers, 41, pleaded guilty but tried to blame his actions on a funnel-web spider bite 12 days before the offence.

A New South Wales judge jailed him for eight years on Wednesday.

The court heard Spiers went to hospital after he was bitten and received a dose of anti-venom, but began suffering from headaches and sensitivity to light, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

'No medical evidence'

He was later diagnosed with possible viral meningitis and spent four days in hospital, according to the newspaper.

But a toxicologist told the District Court of New South Wales there was no medical evidence to suggest a spider bite could make someone commit crime.

Judge Peter Berman told Spiers he must serve at least six years before he would be able to apply for parole.

The Herald reported that suspicion fell on Spiers in 2005, leading to his arrest, after he refused to appear in a television advertisement for his employer saying he did not want to be recognised.

Commonly found in eastern Australia, funnel-webs grow to 4.5 cm (1.8in) in length and their poisonous bite can cause serious illness or death to humans.
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Source: Link

I know venomous spiders will cause you to get headaches and make you feel sick, but drive you to rape someone? It's a bit fishy...unless if someone can point out a spider that acts like an aphrodisiac.

4N6 DNA · 11-03-2007, 03:29 PM

Well Spiers, I'll give you points for creativity and some for bravery for blaming the anti-venom. I mean, from everything I read about funnel web spider antivenom, there aren't side effects except in rare cases, allergy reactions. So that doesn't lack imagination.

But in retrospect, you should have stuck with the age old and time honored insanity plea. Hope they prepare lots of acyclovir for you in prison, sir.

Thank you for posting that article for us ~+Yamiko. It never fails to surpise me how crazy and desperate sick criminals will get when caught with their pants down (no pun intended). For the woman and her family, I hope that they can find some closure with him behind bars.

My sources:
CSL Antivenom Handbook - Funnel Web Spider Antivenom
Funnel Spider antivenom Patient information

Jen Jaree · 11-03-2007, 07:42 PM

The defenses they come up with

.

migamoo · 11-03-2007, 08:11 PM

This is definitely a new one for me. I want to know why people think pleas like this will work.

JohannafromIHJ · 11-04-2007, 11:18 AM

I for one, believe this poor guy. I can't tell you how many times a headache coupled with sensitivity to light has made me want to abduct and rape someone for four hours.

**sunnykerr** · 11-05-2007, 07:35 PM

Good one, Johanna.

Seriously, this one's right up there with the Twinkie defence.

migamoo · 11-05-2007, 09:12 PM

Wait, what's the twinkie defense?

Lain · 11-05-2007, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fieryangel (View Post)

Wait, what's the twinkie defense?

From wikipedia

Quote:

In jurisprudence, "Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for a criminal defendant's claims that some unusual biological factor entered into the causes or motives of the alleged crime, and that due to this biological factor, either they should not be held criminally liable for actions which broke the law or the criminal liability should be mitigated to a lesser offense. While biological factors may certainly influence behavior, the label of "Twinkie defense" implies that the specific biological factor is one that most people would view as not being sufficient to account for criminal activity, such as the effects of allergies, minor stimulants such as coffee and nicotine, sugar, and/or vitamins.

migamoo · 11-05-2007, 09:51 PM

You've got to be kidding me.

**sunnykerr** · 11-06-2007, 06:59 AM

See, I wasn't aware that it had become that. Mind you, it makes sense.

But I was referring to the 1979 murder of the San Francisco mayor by a man who blamed consumption of Coca-Cola and Twinkies for his crime, saying that such consumption worsens mood swings... I guess to the point where you're helpless to commit murder.

The really sick thing is that the jury at the time bought that excuse and the judge didn't intervene.

Quote:

The Twinkie defence stems from the double murder trial in 1979 of Dan White in San Francisco. White — a former supervisor on the city's governing council, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — killed Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk on Nov. 27, 1978.

At the trial, psychiatrist Martin Blinder testified that White was severely depressed, in no small part because he had been consuming Twinkies and Coca-Cola, arguing that diet can worsen existing mood swings, resulting in diminished capacity. The jury bought it and deemed White incapable of the premeditation required for a murder conviction and he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. White served five years in prison.

Over the years, several rock bands and TV sitcoms have had fun with the Twinkie defence and in November 1996, the three-act opera Harvey Milk — composed by Stewart Wallace and librettist Michael Korie — made its San Francisco debut.

CBC News In Depth: Crime

LittleMilkJug · 11-11-2007, 09:03 AM

What an idiot. I can understand an insect bite to give fever, but not to attack another person.


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