A Riverina lawyer has welcomed a move by the New South Wales Parliament to change the verdict in court cases in which a defendant is found to be mentally ill.
Dale Brooks represented the family of a woman who drowned her five-year-old son and attempted to drown her other child in the Murray River, at Moama, in 2017.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder on the grounds of mental illness.
Parliament has voted to change the finding of "not guilty by reason of mental illness" to a verdict of "act proven but not criminally responsible".
Mr Brooks said many people did not understand the verdict given in the Moama drowning case.
"A lot of people assume from the judgement of not guilty that someone has got off," he said.
"It's often with that finding, that ongoing treatment is required for the offender, but from the public's perception it's all about whether someone has got to pay."
He said the change in wording shifted the sense of responsibility for the act.
"I think for the families of people associated with offenders they suffer a terrible form of collective guilt," he said.
"A change to the wording would have given the family a greater sense that they were not responsible and played no part in what was a dreadful tragedy."
Attorney-General Mark Speakman said criminal justices proceedings are often traumatising for victims and survivors.
"It can be particularly painful for victims and their loved ones to hear that a defendant is 'not guilty' of an offence, even though the court found the defendant committed the act," he said.
A coronial inquiry into the drowning death of the boy is expected to be held later this year.
