And now we have a psychiatrist saying he could possibly function in the community at a later date. Hopefully not in my community. Being evaluated on a regular basis with the chance of rejoining society is outrageous - a person who commits a crime because of a mental malfunction is far more dangerous than one who is rational. Sane people who commit serious crimes like murder or armed robbery have obvious motivation - hate, greed or whatever, so you can be aware of the danger and at least take steps to prevent it. People who think they're getting commands from God or the devil are like ticking time bombs - you can't possibly protect society because you don't know when they're going to go over the edge.
Why is it that lack of mental capacity gives a person immunity from responsibility (I couldn't help it - I was drunk, on drugs, psychotic, etc.)? The results of the crime are the same regardless of the state of mind of the perpetrator. The victim is no less dead, the family no less bereaved, the witnesses no less traumatized just because the criminal has mental health issues.
What this man did was an atrocity. He murdered a person in cold blood in front of witnesses - there is no doubt of his guilt. For that, he should spend the rest of his life in a secure facility - to do otherwise is to spit in the face of the victim's family.
Yes, I believe that Mr. Li was psychotic. Yes, I feel sorry for people with mental illnesses. But that doesn't mean they should be exempt from the rules which govern the rest of us - he should not be allowed to escape the consequences of his actions. Confining him to a hospital for an indefinite period means he could be pronounced "cured" at some future date and released back into the general public. He brutally murdered an innocent man. He caused pain and heartache for the victim's family that can never be erased. Should he then have the chance to enjoy life, happiness and freedom, those things he so cruelly stole from Tim McLean? Giving him that opportunity may be legal, but it sure doesn't feel like justice.
amen aunty.
ReplyDeleteamen
Don't lock up all the fruit and nutters! If we locked up all the nutters we wouldn't have been blessed with George Bush! Oh wait....
ReplyDeleteAfter this nutcase killed Tim he was cutting him up in pieces with a large knife, and eating him , while the cops sat outside,assessing the situation, for HOW LONG ? before they went in .It was a lot longer than 25 seconds! Yet it took 4 cops and 5 tasers to kill an innocent man at Vancouver airport because they felt threatened when he picked up a stapler??? the RCMP took out the wrong guy!
ReplyDeletemr. Li should get the death penalty.wait we don't have that here hmm..
ReplyDeleteand they are still chasin Marocchi around too! The price of justice in this country depends on how much money you have to buy it. In my Criminal Justice text it states that some in the criminal justice system would argue that crime stimulates the economy. That must be a judge's point of view because who else would benefit from giving a lenient sentence? If a light sentence is meted out, then that judge knows damn well that the criminal will be back in front of him in a short while and his date book fills up. Why not? The judge is completely insulated by his black robes and his bottle of scotch.
ReplyDelete