Avoiding a criminal conviction

Iris was in her 40s and a mother of two dependent children, who were taken away into care by Child Protection due to her diagnosed schizoaffective disorder. After being told the children were not going to spend any time with her in the near future, Iris took knives from her kitchen drawer and went out into the garage with the intention of harming herself. Her husband, who saw the warning signs, followed her and attempted to restrain her but Iris responded poorly to this, causing superficial wounds to him.

A family relative was also present in the house, heard the disturbance and came out and was able to calm Iris down. The husband went back into the house and called 000, not for his own injuries but because he knew Iris was undergoing a psychiatric episode, which he described at the time as a ‘mental breakdown’. By the time Police arrived, Iris was no longer so distressed.

The husband declined to make a statement and did not want his injuries documented. Even so, the police arrested Iris and took her to a police station where she made some unfortunate statements about not liking her husband and resenting him. Her explanation of events could have been interpreted as either Iris acting in self-defence or accidentally injuring her husband. Despite this, the police decided to charge her with ‘Intentionally Causing Injury’, a serious charge. Only then did they refer Iris to a psychiatric unit where she was admitted as an in-patient for several days, before being transferred to a recovery centre subject to a Community Treatment Order. Despite her challenges, Iris had never been in trouble with the law before. The criminal justice system could not have assisted Iris with her mental health and family issues.

The lawyer involved advocated on her behalf that Diversion was the appropriate outcome. The prosecution agreed and recommended her, and the Court placed Iris on a three-month plan, the only condition being that Iris be of good behaviour.