One thing I've been wanting to know - when was it that personal responsibility died? On every news channel, in every city, everywhere, all you hear is "it's not my fault
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Follow up - I think that people who WANT to help themselves and take responsibility and improve their lives should get the help they need, but no one should get a free ride. People on welfare should be doing public works projects. People on long-term disability can (for the most part) work in call centres that require nothing other than the use of a phone. Public housing should ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE that people are not using drugs and alcohol in order to qualify. Canada, and especially BC, should be putting drug dealers in prison, and not giving them a cookie and a pat on the head.
Honestly, car thieves with over 20 convictions are STILL not doing any jail time. Drug dealers with numerous convictions never see the inside of a cell. I'm sick of the attitude that nothing is anyone's fault, and that no mistake ever comes with a consequence.
But re: your edit, what set you off? I usually roll my eyes hard at any insanity defense, but that guy was clearly fucked in the head. And that...really isn't his fault.
I've never understood that though - if someone is so unstable that they would do something so incredibly horrific, why on earth are they not being put away for the rest of their life. They're dangerous far beyond the scope or a regular murderer, and yet they virtually get off with nothing! Why don't judges say; "ok, you are obviously insane and should get help, and you are so dangerous that you should never see the light of day again." Either prison or a mental hospital, but put them away FOREVER.
Ah, but that's just the thing - sometimes what's broken can be fixed. Schizophrenics can be completely out of touch with reality off meds, and fully functional on meds. And they can be ordered onto meds legally under the circumstances this guy's in, with long-term injections to make sure he's not cheating. With mental disorders it's not a matter of punishment and retribution, or of "personal responsibility" - he'll be put away for as long as it takes to be fixed, if he can be fixed; for life if he can't be. That's a much safer bet than Canada's version of "life in prison", which is anything but.
The victim's family has nothing to do with it. I read interviews with the vic's mother, and she has no kind of understanding of what this level of mental defect means. Why should someone with no understanding of the issues have any real say
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I disagree. If a person is so unbalanced that a lack of regular prescription medication will cause them to kill an innocent person in cold blood in the most despicable, horrifying way possible, they should be locked up forever. I personally wouldn't be prepared to allow someone like that to walk free knowing that a single pill separates them from brutal murder.
At the end of the day, the person's still dead, and the person should still be in jail for a very, very, very long time.
He's clearly insane, what point is there to send him to a "real" prison just to make the family feel better?Because the family is the one that lost something. Their son is still dead because of the actions this guy took, and he should pay for them. Again, everyone is trying to find a reason to excuse a cold-blooded and brutal murder. If this guy woke up one day, had a complete break from reality and went on a murderous rampage, he should be locked up in a mental institution for life. If he had a previous diagnosis and just went off his meds, then he
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Because once he's not insane (probably through meds) he won't be dangerous. According to what I'd read when I followed the case, the guy was never in any trouble before. He's not some kind of antisocial troublemaker, he's sick.
"In cold blood" usually has a connotation of the perp knowing what the fuck they're doing. This guy? Not so much.
There are excuses, and there are bona fide reasons for doing something. This verdict is the latter. And get fucking real, if he were send away for "life" under a non-medical verdict he'd be on the street in 25 years at the latest, with no supervision and no one to force him to take any drugs. And crazier than ever.
And get fucking real, if he were send away for "life" under a non-medical verdict he'd be on the street in 25 years at the latest, with no supervision and no one to force him to take any drugs
Also part of my problem with Canadian Justice. Why is it that life ≠ life? There's something really wrong with that.
What you wrote after, "BUT...it just isn't right that innocent people get screwed over", is what made me write the reply. Since we were not arguing about him going away (at least I wasn't, I fully support locking him up in psych until he can be safely released, if ever), I took it to mean that you disagreed with the "punishment" in this case, specifically that you felt the handling of this guy as a psych "not guilty" case was screwing over the family.
Unless you meant that it just isn't faaaaair that innocent people get hurt, ever, period. Which is the truth. Also...kinda a dumbly naive and rhetorical statement to make.
Huh. This isn't the sort of thing I expect from you.
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Honestly, car thieves with over 20 convictions are STILL not doing any jail time. Drug dealers with numerous convictions never see the inside of a cell. I'm sick of the attitude that nothing is anyone's fault, and that no mistake ever comes with a consequence.
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With mental disorders it's not a matter of punishment and retribution, or of "personal responsibility" - he'll be put away for as long as it takes to be fixed, if he can be fixed; for life if he can't be. That's a much safer bet than Canada's version of "life in prison", which is anything but.
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At the end of the day, the person's still dead, and the person should still be in jail for a very, very, very long time.
He's clearly insane, what point is there to send him to a "real" prison just to make the family feel better?Because the family is the one that lost something. Their son is still dead because of the actions this guy took, and he should pay for them. Again, everyone is trying to find a reason to excuse a cold-blooded and brutal murder. If this guy woke up one day, had a complete break from reality and went on a murderous rampage, he should be locked up in a mental institution for life. If he had a previous diagnosis and just went off his meds, then he ( ... )
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"In cold blood" usually has a connotation of the perp knowing what the fuck they're doing. This guy? Not so much.
There are excuses, and there are bona fide reasons for doing something. This verdict is the latter. And get fucking real, if he were send away for "life" under a non-medical verdict he'd be on the street in 25 years at the latest, with no supervision and no one to force him to take any drugs. And crazier than ever.
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Also part of my problem with Canadian Justice. Why is it that life ≠ life? There's something really wrong with that.
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(The comment has been removed)
What you wrote after, "BUT...it just isn't right that innocent people get screwed over", is what made me write the reply. Since we were not arguing about him going away (at least I wasn't, I fully support locking him up in psych until he can be safely released, if ever), I took it to mean that you disagreed with the "punishment" in this case, specifically that you felt the handling of this guy as a psych "not guilty" case was screwing over the family.
Unless you meant that it just isn't faaaaair that innocent people get hurt, ever, period. Which is the truth. Also...kinda a dumbly naive and rhetorical statement to make.
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