The review board said it heard testimony from mental health professionals before concluding that the "weight of evidence" showed Baker is not a risk to the public. Last year, he was permitted to move into independent living, but he had to abide by certain rules, which included taking medications and attending counselling appointments.Īccording to a 1999 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada, a review board must order an absolute discharge if a person doesn't pose a significant threat to public safety. I have no words," de Delley wrote.īaker was found not criminally responsible in 2009 and spent seven years in treatment at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre before being allowed to move to Winnipeg, where he was treated at Health Sciences Centre. McLean's mother, Carol de Delley, a vocal critic of Canada's not criminally responsible laws and who believes Baker should remain in custody for life, posted to Facebook on Friday that she has nothing to say about his discharge. Vince Li OK'd to move to Winnipeg group homeīaker was found to have been suffering from untreated schizophrenia when he stabbed, beheaded and partially cannibalized Tim McLean, 22.The Manitoba Criminal Code Review Board ordered the discharge on Friday, saying Li, now known as Will Lee Baker, does not pose a significant safety threat. The family has endured significant loss and suffering … (and) to allow a murderer to be released without any conviction or conditions would simply be wrong.Vince Li, the man who was found not criminally responsible for beheading a man on a Greyhound bus in 2008, has been granted an absolute discharge. “Tim McLean’s family’s rights and well-being should be at the forefront of the court’s decision. He called an absolute discharge an insult to the victim’s family and a risk to public safety. “Will Baker, regardless of the name that he goes by, still beheaded and cannibalized Tim McLean,” he said in an emailed statement. Manitoba Tory MP James Bezan said Baker’s request for a discharge should be denied - and Bezan expects it will be. Kaiser said involvement with the justice system amplifies perceptions about the mentally ill, “so people have at least two levels of prejudice that they’re fighting against.” “There is widespread stigma and prejudice when it concerns people with mental illness and that’s something that persons found not criminally responsible bear in double measure,” Kaiser said. The emphasis must be on the individual’s treatment and potential risk to the community, not on punishment. The ruling added there must be clear evidence of a significant risk to the public for the review board to continue imposing conditions after a person is found not criminally responsible.Īrchie Kaiser, an expert in mental health and the law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said there’s a poor public understanding of what “not criminally responsible” means. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1999 that a review board must order an absolute discharge if a person doesn’t pose a significant threat to public safety. “The review board takes into consideration public safety and that is the top priority.” “There’s nothing casual about it,” he said. Summerville said the board’s review will take into account detailed evidence from Baker’s treatment team. He declined to get into specifics due to confidentiality, but said “this has been one of the most positive experiences that I’ve ever had in working with a person with a mental illness.” His medical team has said he has been a model patient and understands the need to continue to take anti-psychotic medication.Īt his last review board hearing, Baker was granted the right to live on his own, but subject to monitoring and random drug tests.Ĭhris Summerville, CEO of the Schizophrenia Society of Canada, said he has met with Baker on several occasions over the years. He was found to be not criminally responsible due to a mental illness - schizophrenia.īaker was originally kept in a secure wing at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, but the board has granted him increasing freedoms almost every year. He repeatedly stabbed McLean while the young man fought for his life. As passengers fled the bus, Baker continued stabbing and mutilating the body before he was arrested. He sat next to the 22-year-old McLean on the bus after the young man smiled at him and asked how he was doing.īaker said he heard the voice of God telling him to kill the young carnival worker or “die immediately.” Baker killed Tim McLean during a bus trip along the Trans-Canada Highway near Portage la Prairie in July 2008.
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