Li did, I certainly can understand that what he was doing felt right at the time and that after coming back to reality, he likely felt absolutely awful about what he did. Although the things I did while psychotic cannot be paralleled to what Mr. McLean was an alien and that he was in fact saving the world by killing him.Īs someone who has suffered psychosis, I can at least somewhat put myself in the shoes of Mr. Li, in his deluded and paranoid state due to untreated schizophrenia, believed that Mr. Li likely did not wake up that day and decide ‘I’m going to go on a bus and decapitate someone because that just seems like a neat thing to do.’ Mr. Then why does society feel the need to criminally punish this man, for something over which he had little to no control over? Li was found "Not Criminally Responsible" for his actions on account of a major mental illness. Not now, not next year, not in 10 years – not ever.” We’re all happy for Li and we hope that he continues to take his medications and finds some type of meaningful life inside the walls of a mental facility. And according to his doctors, he’s doing very well. “His schizophrenia symptoms are being managed with high doses of antipsychotic medication at Selkirk Mental Health Centre. Li has caused yet another public outrage by recently being granted supervised access to the community where he is held in a forensic psychiatric hospital.Ī recent editorial in the Winnipeg Sun seems to have a fairly good grasp of the public sentiment regarding this news. My thoughts are definitely with them as I’m sure they are dealing with more than I could ever imagine. McLean have gone through over these past few years. This happened, and it is absolutely astonishingly awful. Should the Mentally Ill Be Locked Up Forever After Committing a Violent Crime?Īs far as horror stories go, there isn’t much worse than someone taking out a machete on a public bus, decapitating someone and then parading around the bus licking blood from his fingers while holding onto the head of the victim. But one undeniable truth is that the media have likely done more harm than good.Ī Canadian news story caught the attention of the world in 2009 when Vince Li, a Chinese immigrant to Canada with schizophrenia, suffered a psychotic break and brutally murdered and decapitated Greyhound bus passenger, Tim McLean. Many theories abound as to why mental health stigma plays such a major role in society.
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