Is it possible to commit murder while asleep? Sleepwalking has been used as a defense as early as 1846 when Albert J. Tirrell was acquitted of killing a prostitute named Maria Bickford due to sleepwalking. In modern times, the defense has been used about two dozen times around the world - resulting in at least five acquittals. There's no doubt that sleepwalkers are able to perform complex tasks while not awake, as videotapes of actual sleepwalkers reveal. But murder? A skeptic, a defense attorney, a prosecutor, a sleep expert and others weigh in on this controversial issue.
—J. Spurlin