As you may know, I have absolutely no respect for Rona Ambrose, the monstrous leader of the Harper Party.
I can't forget how that cruel Con put her inhuman ideology before the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in this country.
By trying to close down the Insite clinic in Vancouver, and making it almost impossible to set up others like it in the rest of Canada.
Even though she knew they could have saved the lives of thousands of Canadians addicted to dangerous drugs like heroin and fentanyl.
Well now the ghastly Ambrose is going after the mentally ill.
As only a Con could.
Claiming that it "doesn't seem right" that Will Baker, formerly known as Vincent Li, should be released almost nine years after he murdered a man on a Greyhound bus while in a psychotic state.
And of course blaming it all on Justin Trudeau...
When in fact Trudeau has nothing to with the law which determined Baker's release. It was written by her mentor, her inspiration, her Great Leader Stephen Harper.
And Baker's release does seem right, because in the eyes of the law, and whatever the idiot Ambrose says, he is not a criminal.
Mr. Baker was charged with murder, but he was found not criminally responsible (NCR) because he was mentally ill and suffering from psychosis at the time of the attack.
The standard common-law test of criminal liability is expressed in the Latin phrase actus reus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, meaning “the act is not culpable unless the mind is guilty.” In legal terms, Mr. Baker did not commit a crime because he lacked the capacity to understand his actions.
Keeping him locked up for being sick would indeed be another act of cruelty.
Mr. Baker underwent treatment for 8 1/2 years, most of it in a psychiatric institution. (He has been living in a Winnipeg apartment and doing job training in Winnipeg since November, 2016.) Testimony at the review board revealed that he felt terrible remorse once he understood his actions, and that he had been a model patient.
Nobody deserves to die like Tim McLean did on the Greyhound bus that day. No family should have to live with the knowledge of the unvarnished horror that occurred on that Prairie night.
But jailing Mr. Baker for being sick would be another act of cruelty, not justice.
And even worse, Ambrose's cruel words only reinforce the stigma against the millions of mentally ill Canadians, or the belief that they can never be healed.
Which along with the lack of proper services, is the biggest obstacle health care workers face when they try to help them. And that's criminal.
But then why should any decent person be surprised?
When Ambrose, while under the influence of her nutty leader, also wanted to lock up people who smoke marijuana...
She hasn't an ounce of empathy, or any knowledge of the principles of harm reduction.
All she's trying to do now is play to the mob, or the Con's rabid base, for crass political purposes.
And no doubt trying to distract other Canadians from this story.
And her recent act of gross hypocrisy...
Which makes her behaviour even more disgusting, if that's possible.
Rona Ambrose should be ashamed of herself.
She is unfit to be the leader of any Canadian political party. If she had any decency she would resign tomorrow.
And her Cons must be totally demolished, before they poison this country further...
I'll never argue the point that Rona is cruel Simon but in the case of Will Baker, my concern is that the law that will allow him unfettered freedom does nothing to ensure that he remains on his meds. That makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteThey say he doesn't pose a "significant" threat of relapsing if he stays on his meds. So he still poses a threat? Is that their way of absolving themselves if he does relapse? Sorry Simon but that does not inspire confidence in me.
Add to that the publicity surrounding this case, I ask myself, how will he ever have a fair chance at reintegrating into society? They are setting him up to fail. Any community that is aware of his presence will have their own versions of Rona whipping everyone into a frenzy and how will Mr. Baker deal with that?
The horrific act that he inflicted on an innocent man will ensure that if he's identified, he will be ostracized wherever he goes. With seemingly no checks or balances, the very people who have deemed Mr. Baker a free man may have just sentenced him to a fate far worse than when he was being treated for his schizophrenia.
Where that may or may not lead is an unknown that is quite unsettling to me.
JD
Humm. I too am troubled by this unsupervised release in this case.
ReplyDeleteI know of 2 people who are suffer from schizophrenia. Neither is violent (one female, one male)although the male, a rather large lad at the time some 30 years ago did punch his Doctor, he has never done anything like that again.
I do know that they at times do not take their medication, for whatever reason. But I also know that they feel the affects of not doing so the next day and will take their meds. They describe it as a 'drifting' sensation.
The result of Li's actions were stomach churning at best and too have him free to roam and choose not to take his meds is too risky.
Anon 2
In response to the two anons above, let's not make the mistake of giving Ambrose's concerns the benefit of the doubt. Anon2 makes the correct and important point that how the vast majority of schizophrenics are not dangerous. Why should we think for a second that Rona Ambrose either A) knows this or B) cares? Her statement is entirely focused on the crime and her opinion of the punishment. Treatment, rehabilitation, the reintegration into society of a sick mind judged no longer dangerous, none of this registers for a the simplistic "us vs. them" worldview of the modern Conservative Party of Canada. If she actually comes out and says otherwise, I'll soften my stance, but we all know what the Harper government's attitude to law and order was. Let's not read nobility into a statement where it certainly isn't warranted.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:03pm and 7:53 pm... Firstly, while it's possible that a mentally ill person might stop taking their medication after being hospitalized for a few days and then released. But when a patient has been taking their medication for almost nine years, clinical records show that they will keep on taking them. Will Baker will almost certainly continue to be monitored by medical and social workers, so it's not like he will be out there turning into a werewolf whenever there is a full moon. And since most schizophrenics are far less dangerous than say a murderous psychopath, why should they be punished longer than them? As I said in my post, Ambrose is only trying to whip up fear against the mentally ill, like Harper did. And by publicizing the story in such a sensational manner, the media should also be ashamed of themselves...
DeleteHe had an illness and he recovered. those opposed to his release, well its like insisting some one wear a cast for the rest of their life or stay in the hospital for the rest of their life because they once broke their leg. The chance of the man re offending is much less than most of your neighbours getting in their cars "high" and killing some one or in B.C. getting gunned down by a gang banger. that happens much more frequently than a mentally ill person killing some one. Well in B.C. its more like the police kill the mentally ill person. Having the man back in society doesn't bother me a bit.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Ambrose is cruel as a person, its her job to oppose and make things as difficult as she can for the federal Liberals and so she is doing her job, even if we don't agree with her. She uses what she can and that is politics.
hi e.a.f.... Ambrose is free to make life as hard as she can for the Liberals, but she shouldn't use the mentally ill as her weapons of choice. Especially since as I pointed out in my post, the law governing the release of Will Baker was written by her former leader Stephen Harper...
ReplyDeleteHi Simon, hear what you're saying and agree she shouldn't use the mentally ill as her weapon of choice. Unfortunately in politics, any handy weapon is the weapon of choice. As to Harper writing the law, the more distance she puts between him and herself, the more votes she may pick up. In this case, his more vengeful base. Next case, it will be something else, until you have enough room to dance on your own.
ReplyDelete