Not criminally responsible

[mariomike]

Don't expect Rohinie will generate the 12 pages of discussion Vince Li did, but might be worth a mention, as it has to do with mental health.

Don't know much about our criminal justice system, or schizophrenia, but this caught my eye, because I remember reading about it.

A woman found not criminally responsible for stabbing a stranger to death in a downtown Toronto drugstore a decade ago has been granted an absolute discharge after an Ontario board concluded she no longer poses a significant threat to public safety.

Woman who killed stranger in downtown PATH store granted absolute discharge

A woman found not criminally responsible for stabbing a stranger to death in a downtown Toronto drugstore a decade ago has been granted an absolute discharge after an Ontario board concluded she no longer poses a significant threat to public safety. In a decision issued last week, the Ontario...

toronto.citynews.ca

 

[OldSolduer]

Vince Li has a new name and is living life on the outside. He was found NCR.

 

[mariomike]

Vince Li has a new name and is living life on the outside. He was found NCR.

12 pages on Vince,

Thread 'Manitoba bus stabbing/ beheading'

31 Jul 2008

Wow...not much else to say.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080731.wmanbus0731/BNStory/National/home

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Apparently Vince and Rohinie both suffer from schizophrenia , and both are NCR , and both received Absolute Discharge , and both live on the outside.

Hopefully they both stay on their meds.

 

[Staff Weenie]

I spent eight weeks as the Attending Officer in a murder trial where the defendant (CAF member) was seeking an NCR finding. The explanation I received from the Crown, was that only about 2% of all people seeking an NCR finding are successful. You have to be very seriously mentally ill for it to be applied. If I'm correct, you have to be unaware of your actions (completely dissociated), unable to control your actions, and unaware that such actions are wrong. So, if voices tell you to stab a person who they tell you is a demon, but you still know killing is wrong, then you are still responsible. The other thing I learned, was that it was safer to go to prison than a psych facility for people deemed NCR. Many are highly unpredictable and violent. I hope that both of these people have the long term follow-on care they need, but I am not convinced it will happen.

 

[brihard]

I spent eight weeks as the Attending Officer in a murder trial where the defendant (CAF member) was seeking an NCR finding. The explanation I received from the Crown, was that only about 2% of all people seeking an NCR finding are successful. You have to be very seriously mentally ill for it to be applied. If I'm correct, you have to be unaware of your actions (completely dissociated), unable to control your actions, and unaware that such actions are wrong. So, if voices tell you to stab a person who they tell you is a demon, but you still know killing is wrong, then you are still responsible. The other thing I learned, was that it was safer to go to prison than a psych facility for people deemed NCR. Many are highly unpredictable and violent. I hope that both of these people have the long term follow-on care they need, but I am not convinced it will happen.

Basically yes. NCR is quite rare. And most NCR cases aren’t necessarily super violent offenders either. I’ve had a couple people I charged who ended up going that way, basically indefinite psychological care. Custodial if need be.

The basic premise of NCR is that a person cannot be legally culpable if they actually truly don’t understand the nature and quality of their actions or can’t control themselves. They lack the operating mind to be morally responsible for criminal intent. It’s therefore seen as a medical issue.

This is distinct from mental health issues (such as addiction) that impact behaviour but do not strip someone of their ability to understand what’s going on and to reason.