ABSTRACT
That the human rights of those with mental disabilities has been a central focus of activity is manifest, and rightly manifest, albeit that some of that activity is relatively recent (see Gostin and Gable, 2004; Perlin and Szeli, 2008; and the work, for example, of the Mental Disability Advocacy Centre in Budapest). However, mentally disordered offenders and mentally disordered offending are not prominent there, nor are they evident in the literature generally on human rights. Indeed, such offenders are amongst the least obvious candidates, as potential perpetrators of abuse against others, for public sympathy or the injection of limited resources. They also constitute a problematic and incoherent group for such initiatives, despite raising a multiplicity of relevant issues. From a human rights perspective mentally disordered offenders are not easy to portray as victims. What constitutes a victim is, of course, itself a contentious matter. This has been explored elsewhere (Rock, 1996, 1998; Peay, 2010b); and memorials to the dead are a poignant reminder that perpetrators are rarely regarded as victims.3
