Man who beheaded fellow bus passenger wants to live on his own

[MBates]

Two good questions. Will see what I can find.

[Weitz]

So he once already decided he wasn't going to continue taking his medication and then this incident happened??

[CaptainCrunch]

Yes, that's how I understood the history.

I was watching the news the other night and they talked about medicated schizophrenics, and the biggest issue is with the medication, is that a person using it will go a long time without symptoms and convince themselves that they don't need it because they're cured and a lot of them believe that the drugs side effects aren't something they want to continue to deal with. So they start experimenting with reducing their dosage and then eventually go off of them. Its part of the problem of that disease in that their minds aren't tremendously well ordered.

It doesn't happen in all cases, but the person talking says there's a reason why a treated schizophrenic needs consistent monitoring.

[Weitz]

That's a huge red flag and should be taken into consideration.

[DionTheDman]

That's interesting, and contradicts what's been said before (that he was undiagnosed).

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Weitz

That's a huge red flag and should be taken into consideration.

The Professionals have had him for 9 years of intense study and monitoring and this is their opinion.

[jayswin]

It is worth noting that going off your meds before you've killed someone and going off your meds after you've killed someone are two completely different things.

By all accounts he understands what happened and is completely remorseful and willing to do everything it takes to make it up to society and stay the non-threat he currently is.

[Dion]

Review board told Baker's treatment straightforward

Dr. Jeffrey Waldman, a forensic psychiatrist and the head of Baker's treatment team, told the review board this week Baker is one of the rare patients supervised by Manitoba's forensic mental health system that does not have an overly complex pathology. His malady is fairly simple and has been easily treated with anti-psychotic medication. Furthermore, Waldman said Baker himself does not present a myriad of other conditions or factors that would make his continued treatment or ability to sustain his medication an issue.

Neither Baker nor his family has a history of aggression or violence, substance abuse, or anti-social behaviour. He has no cognitive problems, and in fact is well educated and has a high IQ, Waldman said. Finally, he has responded remarkably well to anti-psychotic medication, which has completely stopped the hallucinations that sparked the McLean killing. So much so that Baker is deeply committed to maintaining his medication for the rest of his life, Waldman added.

"We have many complex cases with people who have a persistent history of violence and other complicating factors," Waldman said. "Very few of these people, even with medication, are able to function, to work or go to school after they are released. Mr. Baker is a far more stable case. He is definitely one of our lowest-need patients."

Waldman said it's also important to recognize that Baker has spent much longer in a psychiatric facility than other people found NCR for violent crimes. "He has had to endure an exceedingly slow and calculated process that has gone through multiple stages of consideration and consultation because of the high profile nature of the case. We've been very cautious."

This process simply does not compute for a great many Canadians that have already rejected the notion of 'not criminally responsible.' They cannot accept that criminal law holds, as one of its main precepts, the idea that someone who cannot form intent nor appreciate the gravity of their actions is not to be subjected to severe and lengthy punishment.

They also take no comfort from the fact that there are very few cases in Canadian case law where someone found NCR for a murder has gone on to commit another murder. In Manitoba, there has been only one similar case — Robert Chaulk — but he was initially released under an earlier provision of the Criminal Code that bears little resemblance to the law applied today.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/loc...413098363.html

[Otto-matic]

Jill Macyshon ‏@JillMacyshonCTV 35m35 minutes ago
More
#breaking Will Baker (formerly known as Vince Li) gets an "absolute discharge"@ctvnationalnews

[JonDuke]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...arge-1.3977278

Vince Li, man who beheaded passenger on Greyhound bus, given absolute discharge
Man now known as Will Lee Baker does not pose significant threat to public, review board says

[jayswin]

They must be pretty confident and by all accounts he's completely remorseful and 100% committed to his meds, so it's nice to see him offered a full free life again.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Yes, that's how I understood the history.

I was watching the news the other night and they talked about medicated schizophrenics, and the biggest issue is with the medication, is that a person using it will go a long time without symptoms and convince themselves that they don't need it because they're cured and a lot of them believe that the drugs side effects aren't something they want to continue to deal with. So they start experimenting with reducing their dosage and then eventually go off of them. Its part of the problem of that disease in that their minds aren't tremendously well ordered.

It doesn't happen in all cases, but the person talking says there's a reason why a treated schizophrenic needs consistent monitoring.

schizophrenic medication also has a habit of slowly losing its effectiveness over time, I have had clients and a friend who would do fine on a med for 6 months to a year and then it would start to just not work as well, many have to cycle through 3 or 4 types, lay off one for a while until the bodies bio chemistry 'forgets' it and its starts to become effective again, I find my hay fever is the same ironically, I can use one type of allergy pill for a while but it eventually looses effectiveness and I have to try a different type, of course the problem is when you psychtropic meds lose effectiveness you start to get a bit paranoid, start thinking the doctors are out to poison you with your meds or the like.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I kind of doubt he'll get an unconditional release so I'll reserve any kind of outrage until then.

How are you now?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by JonDuke

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manito...arge-1.3977278

So to be clear, he doesn't have to "check in" and/or there is no monitoring of if is taking his medication or not?


Why did he change his name?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Locke

How are you now?

Good-n-you?

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

So to be clear, he doesn't have to "check in" and/or there is no monitoring of if is taking his medication or not.


Why did he change his name?

Jesus Christ. Rediculous.

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by Reaper

Blah blah blah. We get it. You don't understand what Not Criminally Responsible means.

I know exactly what it means. It means the person is a danger to society and needs to be kept away from it.

[DionTheDman]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

I know exactly what it means. It means the person is a danger to society and needs to be kept away from it.

You should get a refund on your MD and/or JD if that's your understanding of what that means.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

So to be clear, he doesn't have to "check in" and/or there is no monitoring of if is taking his medication or not?

Prior to the absolute discharge, pharmacy staff would stop by and watch him take his medicine. He has agreed to continue this practice. He also stated that he would continue to seek treatment with his psychiatrist. But if he changed his mind tomorrow and said that he didn't want to do that, he wouldn't have to. (This will also allow him to travel to China where obviously the staff would not have been monitoring him).

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Why did he change his name?

I can't say for certain but Vince Li is synonymous with the "cannibal bus killer." Given Vince wasn't even his birth name, I don't see why he would want to keep that westernized name when all he likely wants is a normal life.

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

(I. E. Mocking and eye rolling are not valuable tools in presenting a convincing argument).

Read your first post in this thread. It was absolutely deserving of mockery, if that's what you want to call it. You wanted more transparency on his treatment but you literally couldn't be bothered to type Vince Li in google.

[GGG]

Disappointed in this outcome. I hope he continues to allow himself to be monitored and continues the psychiatric treatment but it does concern me that he has the choice on whether or not to continue treatment.

Does anyone know how his treatment is paid for and if that changes now with the absolute discharge?