Peter Sutcliffe: The Yorkshire Ripper

Police were satisfied that Sutcliffe was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and should be incarcerated in a secure mental institution, but the presiding judge decided that he would face trial, giving a jury the right to decide whether he was insane.

Sutcliffe’s trial commenced on 5 May 1981, lasting a fortnight, and his detailed confession meant that the jury were instructed to determine his mental state, rather than his guilt or innocence.  On 22 May 1981, after six hours of deliberation, the jury found him sane, and guilty of thirteen counts of murder. The judge recommended a minimum tariff of thirty years.