§ 85. Dr. Summerskillasked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the recent case of murder where the murderer, now proved to be of unsound mind, had already been sentenced for various other brutal attacks on young women; and what after-care methods are adopted by the prison authorities to keep criminals of this kind under observation?
§ Mr. LloydThe hon. Member has been good enough to inform my right hon. Friend of the case to which she refers in the first part of her question, but, as the Home Secretary has recently ordered a medical inquiry to be held into the mental condition of this prisoner, I am unable at present to make any statement about this case. As regards the second part of the question, if a person undergoing detention is certified to be insane or mentally defective proper arrangements would, of course, be made for his care, but in the case of the prisoner in question his examination, while he was in prison on a previous occasion, showed that it was not possible so to certify him.
§ Dr. SummerskillIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the senior medical officer at Brixton and the medical officer at Wormwood Scrubs were both willing to certify this man, and in fact said that two other brutal attacks which he had made during the last two or three years were due to mental instability; and in view of the fact that Mahony is now only 23 years of age, and that the prison authorities have such a careful follow-up of prisoners, does not the hon. Gentleman think that young prisoners of this kind should be kept under some kind of observation?
§ Mr. LloydThere are certain powers for keeping young prisoners under observation after they have left prison, but I was not aware of the detailed facts which the hon. Member has mentioned. If my information is correct, as I said, it was not possible to certify him.