A MAN HAS has been found not guilty by reason of insanity on all charges arising from his bus rampage which led to the death of a woman two years ago.
Peter Clarke (38), a former City of London policeman, Kiltalown Court, Tallaght, Dublin, was acquitted by the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, had submitted in his closing address that the jury should return the "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict based on the expert evidence given by psychiatrists Dr Harry Kennedy, clinical director of the Central Mental Hospital, and Dr Patricia Casey of the Mater hospital.
The jury heard admissions on Mr Clarke's behalf by Mr Hartnett earlier in the trial that he drove the Dualways Bus Company vehicle after taking it without authority from its depot in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, and that collisions occurred, including that which led to the death of Máire Buckley (62).
Mr Clarke, who is a patient at the Central Mental Hospital, had pleaded not guilty to 28 charges arising out of what was described as "an odyssey of destruction" when he took a 53-seat coach on May 7th, 2006, and drove it through parts of west Dublin.
Pauline Walley SC, prosecuting, asked the jury in her closing address to consider the "clear and compelling evidence of the psychiatrists" who she said were satisfied that Mr Clarke wasn't "fabricating a mental disorder for the purpose of the trial".
Judge Desmond Hogan remanded Mr Clarke to the Central Mental Hospital and thanked the jury for its care and attention. It was day five of the trial.
Dr Kennedy, a prosecution witness, said the former policeman was a paranoid schizophrenic suffering from delusions of being pursued by several police forces and intelligence services.
Mr Clarke had been diagnosed years before the bus incident both here and in the US as psychotic, he said.
"Schizophrenia is a disease for life. It doesn't go away but is manageable and can be controlled."
Dr Kennedy said that as a result of his "persuasive delusions", Mr Clarke was unable to refrain from his rampage. "He knew what he was doing but he didn't have the mental capacity to understand the consequences of his actions."
Dr Casey said Mr Clarke was "in the throes of an acute mental episode" when he drove into oncoming traffic at the Bluebell Luas stop and did not know the nature or quality of his actions.
"He was too agitated, perplexed and terror-stricken to even consider right from wrong."
Dr Casey said he had been taking medication for his condition "erratically" in the months before his rampage and told her he felt very upset.