Not guilty by reason of stupidity

Another Mr Bean of a judge has warped the common law in a whole new direction, this time by ignoring Section 5 of the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964, which applies to "disabled" criminals as well as mad ones -

"A boy of 12 who carried out more than 20 criminal acts was today released without charge - because the courts have no legal way to deal with him. A judge heard the child's behaviour has 'deteriorated beyond control' but his low IQ means that he cannot properly understand the court process. The judge [said] there is no way that the court could accept a guilty plea from him, as he cannot understand the implications of his acts, and they could not follow doctor's recommendations, as the boy had not been convicted."

Judges can't override acts of Parliament when they make law - and this jerk of a judge is really just a paid magistrate, and therefore not even allowed to "legislate from the bench". Here's the real law -

"Where findings are recorded that the accused is under a disability and that he did the act or made the omission charged against him, the court shall either make an order that the accused be admitted to such hospital as may be specified by the Secretary of State; or make in respect of the accused such one of the following orders as they think most suitable in all the circumstances of the case, namely - a guardianship order within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983; a supervision and treatment order; or an order for his absolute discharge."