I cannot claim to be all that surprised by a ruling this morning by the Manitoba Criminal Review Board in granting Greyhound Bus killer Vincent Li the right to live independently once a final assessment on his condition is completed and psychiatrists rule he’s ready.
For those of you who don’t recall the name Vincent Li, he’s the maniac who while in the grip of severe schizophrenia, stabbed, decapitated, and attempted to eat fellow passenger Timothy McLean while they were aboard a packed Greyhound Bus traveling through Manitoba. Li was eventually found NCR (Not Criminally Responsible) due to mental illness.
In June of 2010 I wrote about this case and my disgust at the Canadian justice system for allowing this defense in such a heinous crime https://jasonslyric.wordpress.com/2010/06/02/what-price-compassion/. This isn’t the only high profile case that’s resulted in a successful NCR defence. In 2011 Quebec cardiologist Dr. Guy Turcotte was found NCR in the slaughter of his 5 year old son Olivier and 3 year old daughter Anne-Sophie who he viciously stabbed to death while they slept. Luckily the crown prosecutors appealed the verdict and in a second trial in 2015 he was found guilty of second degree murder. I’m of the opinion a retrial of Vincent Li should be forthcoming with hopefully a similar verdict.
I have listened to both sides of this argument with the usual liberal voices proclaiming you cannot hold somebody accountable for their actions if they’re mental and don’t have control of their actions. So what about all of the pedophiles who claim they have uncontrollable impulses to molest children. We claim B.S. and rightfully hold them accountable for their actions, so why not some crazed killer?
I’m not insensitive to the plight of people with mental illness. After all, it can strike any of us at some point or another. And I understand the simple argument that they didn’t ask to be stricken with mental illness and if they weren’t in the throes of mental episode they wouldn’t have committed their heinous acts and would most likely be a contributing member of society. Yes I agree with all of that. But that’s just half the story. If certain special interest groups want to advocate on the side of the afflicted, who is going to bat for the victims? If we buy the argument that Vincent Li was a victim of his illness, then who was Timothy McLean a victim of? He was just minding his own business on a bus trip back home to see his Mother when he was killed in the most horrific way. I don’t understand how we as a functional, so-called logical society can just sweep the whole incident under the rug and say “Oh Well!” How the hell is that fair to the memory and dignity of a human being?
So Timothy McLean is now a pile of dust in the ground while Vincent Li who interestingly has changed his name to Will Baker, will be able to get on with the rest of his life. How is that justice? Experts claim that people with mental illness who are released from confinement are less likely to re-offend than other people who have been incarcerated. What they fail to mention is that this is assuming they are taking their meds. In a perfect world this would be the case. They would take their meds, keep their mental compulsions at bay and be able to function in society. But what happens when they don’t take their meds? What if they feel they are getting better and don’t need to take their meds? Who keeps the rest of us in society safe from these possibilities? I’ll tell you……..nobody! Liberal interest groups would rather advocate for the rights of one person as opposed to the vast number of people who could be harmed by that one person.
So I have a question for the Doctors, Criminal Review Board members and special interest advocates who fight for the rights of people like Vincent Li who have used the NCR defense. If the worst case scenario occurs and they re-offend, can we hold them accountable? Can we revoke the license of the Psychiatrist who proclaimed that person safe to live in society? Can we fire the members of the Criminal Review Board who made the decision that resulted in the death of a member of the public? Can we tar and feather members of the various Liberal Interest groups for their narrow-minded views that put the rest of us in danger? I think not. They are so sure of themselves but don’t hold them to it!
Sane Ramblings in an Insane World 