9. Somnambulism as a Defense to Homicide
Kentucky’s Court of Appeals reversed Fain’s conviction. It held that the trial court had erred by not allowing Fain to introduce evidence by medical experts of somnambulism, or of his being a lifelong sleepwalker. The lower court had denied Fain’s request to introduce evidence that he had to be watched since infancy to prevent him from injuring himself while asleep.
Additionally, he had witnesses who were prevented from testifying that when aroused from sleep, Fain frequently got up frightened and resorted to violence as if resisting an assault. For minutes thereafter, Fain would seem unconscious of what he did or what was going around him. The appellate court concluded that if Fain had been unconscious or nearly so of what he was doing or what was being done to him, and thought he was being attacked and so resisted an attempt to kill or injure him, then he should be acquitted.
Read More: 11 Sleepwalking Killers from History.