Caffeine Crazy? - Only in America

Have you heard of the latest criminal defence/defense plea in the USA? Unfit to stand trial because of caffeine-induced psychosis. And it appears to have worked in a recent case.

Defendant Daniel Noble ran over two pedestrians on the way to work then made a speedy getwaway. He had not been drinking but appeared anxious. He was charged with vehicular assault and hit-and-run, but his lawyer claimed his client had suffered from 'caffeine psychosis' and should not be held criminally responsible.(The average person consumes about 200 mg of caffeine a day and Noble may have been been drinking up to ten times the average.)

The judge agreed and dropped all charges, despite the fact that the victims both had broken bones and required lengthy treatments.

Experts have ratified this defence by stating the bleeding obvious quite frankly, - that coffee drinkers may experience nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushed face and the like, if they drink too much. Ya think?

Here's what I think:-

Most people know that caffeine has some effect on humans. Some people can't even drink one cup without going all hyper. If you choose to drink large quantities of coffee, shouldn't you bear the responsibiltiy for any subsequent weird or deviant behaviour?

Over the years in both Britain and the States, drunkenness has not been allowed as a defence for most crimes. If you choose to down two gallons of vodka then beat someone up, rob next door's or get in your car, you can't stand there and say you didn't know what you were doing because you were pissed as a fart. (In most cases. It can get a bit technical with the "intent" bit). And that's as it should be.

So why the heck is it OK to rely on the over-caffeinated defence? I just don't get it.

There's another, more serious, case employing the same strategy. This time it's a Kentucky man accused of murdering his wife. The legal defence claim is that Woody Will Smith, (what a name) had so many sodas, energy drinks and diet pills that he couldn't have knowingly killed his wife; that the caffeine made him unable to commit the crime.

Fer cryin' out loud! I will be watching this case with interest and disbelief!

This in a country that recently executed a women said to be borderline retarded.

Pah!

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A few qustions about things that have crossed the Pond

Over at Pond Parleys, I'm talking about things that might or might not have crossed the Pond. "Like what?" I hear you ask.  Ah well, you'll have to pop over and see.

And your input would be most appreciated.

PS. Apologies if it seems I used to follow you and now you're not appearing on the sidebar blog roll. Not quite sure what's going on, but quite a few people (Blogger and other) are simply not showing up on there. I keep checking that I'm following, but not sure what else to do. Hope I don't offend anyone.

Reality TV - too tame by half.

As we know, you can pretty much get a reality TV show these days for picking your nose in public. My attention was drawn this week to "Raising Sextuplets". A seemingly normal (but obviously narcissitic) couple, have sextuplets, and are now in the obligatory throes of separation.

Now, only having three kids, I can't imagine what it must be like raising six, especially when they're all the same age, but a reality show? I mean, we've had "John and Kate plus Eight" and the one about the Duggers who I think, have reached the 20 milestone. So my immediate reaction to "Raising Sextuplets"  was "Only six kids? What's so special about that?"

And then it hit me. Nothing. There's nothing special about reality TV anymore. Given that it's called reality TV, we shouldn't be expecting too much, but even when it's real people, there's usually something a little extraordinary about them. Like the normal couples in Wife Swap for example - all barking mad and very compelling TV viewing. Voici -



A reality show about a real estate agent sounds a bit erm, mind-numbingly dull, until you learn that the "star" Jeff Lewis, is a bloody nut case, treats his staff appalingly, and has had so much work done that he looks like a cartoon character. That would be Flipping Out. (The title is a play on the American phrase (flipping) for buying houses, refurbishing them and selling them on as quickly as you can.)

Similarly, a reality TV show about a golfer sounds like a right yawn until you learn that it's the colourful John Daly. Being John Daly follows the talented and troubled golfer as he struggles to get his life back on track. Now that's more like it.

So come on reality stars, give us a bit of eccentricity - and by that I don't mean the bitching and whining we see on the "Real Housewives". I want full-blown melt-downs where you're carried off in a straight jacket, wannabee stars who have no grip on reality and kids that have one foot in reform school.

Otherwise I may have to come over there and do it myself.

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