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Michael Furlong was shopping for an electronic part at a shop in Smithfield. As he left the store, Sorrell approached him and fatally stabbed Michael Furlong with a hunting knife. Sorrell was found to be not guilty of murder on the grounds that he was mentally ill when he committed the crime. Sorrell suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
This is an interesting case as it follows an old case R v M’Naghten (1843) 8 ER 718 and R v Porter (1933) 55 CLR 182. A number of issues are raised by this case such as how the criminal justice system deals with people with mental illness. Sorrell is in Long Bay hospital, and his detention is reviewed every six months by the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
R v Sorrell [2003] NSWSC 30, 7 February 2003
1. Newspaper articles on Proquest ANZ Newsstand, available remotely to registered clients of the State Library of NSW. Type in furlong and sorrell and murder
2. References to magazine articles use AGIS Plus, available remotely to registered clients of the State Library of NSW. Type in mental illness and murder.
3. Criminal Laws by Brown and others, 2015 (available in some NSW Public Libraries and at the State Library) provides useful summary of the M’Naghten Rules as well as defences such as mental illness in criminal cases
This guide has been developed by staff of the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC), State Library of NSW. The State Library holds an extensive collection of case law, legislation and looseleaf publications.
Michael Furlong
Evaluating the effectiveness of the law?
These websites will help you find information about any issue you have identified from this case and background information that is helpful for evaluating the effectiveness of the legal system
Statistics can be helpful for evaluating the effectiveness of the legal system:
