Canada: Supreme Court ruling makes it easier for mentally disabled to testify

The Supreme Court of Canada made the witness box more accessible for adults with mental disabilities on Friday, saying they are qualified to testify in court if they can tell their story and promise to tell the truth.

No longer is a mentally challenged witness required to show, as a prerequisite for giving evidence, that they understand what it means to make a promise and the difference between telling the truth and a lie.

Denying alleged victims the right to testify on the grounds they cannot explain, in abstract or philosophical terms, the nature of an obligation to tell the truth would give an entire category of offenders immunity from their crimes and further marginalize already vulnerable victims of sexual predators, the court said in a 6-3 judgment.

 

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1129339--it-s-now-easier-for-mentally-challenged-people-to-testify-as-witnesses-in-court#article