A former firefighter who set himself and his house on fire was spared jail after his lawyer claimed he was suffering from a male equivalent of post-natal depression. Jason Jerome, 38, became depressed and suicidal after giving up work to move in with his new partner and become a house husband, a court heard. He was unable to find work and became the primary carer for a seven-month-old baby after relocating to Devon to live with Helen Jones, who he had met on the internet.
After arguing with Miss Jones and returning home drunk, he sprayed himself with cigarette lighter fluid, lit a flame and attempted to set himself alight, the judge was told. He was prevented from doing so by Miss Jones, who tackled him and held him down until police arrived. Some of the fuel had also spread around the home in Dawlish which he shared with his partner, and two children aged 15 and seven months.
But Jerome, who admitted arson, was spared a jail sentence after his lawyer claimed that, had he been a woman, he could have been diagnosed as having post-natal depression. Instead the defendant, who had already served the equivalent of a 16 month jail sentence while on remand awaiting trial, was given a two year community order at Exeter Crown Court.
Mr Barrie White, defending, said Jerome had been a firefighter in Andover for 15 years but had not been able to transfer to Devon, and "felt isolated and worthless because of the shift in his life circumstances". He said: “He went to his GP and asked for help. If he was a woman he may have been diagnosed as having post natal depression. The doctor recorded that he was struggling to come to terms with his new position and status in life. It is a terribly sad story.”
4 comments:
Post-partum depression is caused by hormones. As a man, he wouldn't have had those same hormones.
Nice try, lawyers, but you've just shown how ignorant you really are. Your client may have situational depression... but to say his condition is caused by female hormones is a stretch.
I can't believe this. So there must be a medical condition behind every criminal activity. We shouldn't even be putting anyone else in jail?
I wouldn't want him taking care of my baby. He's a big baby himself--not any kind of man.
Adou, mental disorders are medical conditions, and a suicide attempt is often a sign of mental disorder. This man may have endangered other people, but it seems clear he himself was the only person he wanted to harm, and he doesn't seem to have been that determined even with that. This was probably a desperate cry for attention and help from a depressed, intoxicated mind. (And, like L said, obviously not post-natally depressed. Did the lawyer think ordinary depression was too ordinary?)
Who would it serve, sending this man to jail now?
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