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Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
I'm no psychologist but it's one thing to say flip out on a bus and randomly kill someone but to purposely go to a party with a knife and systematically kill five people of relevance to that individual tells me there was a level of consciousness and commitment to do something any human being would know was wrong. Maybe he wasn't in a good state of mind at the time but I can't believe he would have just blacked out and woke up to a nightmare. Not without being under the influence of heavy drugs or medication I just don't see how this could have been committed without a level of consciousness as it appears highly premeditated.
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Being premeditated does not necessarily equate to being able to distinguish between right and wrong at that later time. And the "black out" (episode) can take place over a prolonged period of time.
e.g. From the fella that shot up the Quebec parliament.
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According to psychiatrist Pierre Mailloux, who was assigned to the case, Lortie suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and had organized his crime during a psychotic episode, believing that he was acting on instructions given to him from God. Nevertheless, in 1985, Lortie was convicted of first-degree murder, but a new trial was ordered due to legal errors. Lortie pleaded guilty to reduced charges of second-degree murder in 1987. Lortie was paroled in December 1995. He now lives in Quebec and works in construction.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Lortie
This fella has been working successfully, uneventfully in construction in Ottawa since release. I'm just saying that for awareness that, yes, people can have a one time psychotic episode but that does not necessarily mean they have to be institutionalized for the rest of their life. It's a tough call and one I suppose we have to have faith in the professionals to make.