‘This is not a clear-cut case’: Judge set to rule on Alek Minassian’s state of mind in livestreamed Yonge St. van attack verdict
By Alyshah HashamCourts Reporter Tue., March 2, 2021
My comments:
Anita Szigeti, a prominent lawyer specializing in mental health law and co-author of the Guide to Mental Disorder Law in Canadian Criminal Justice said the legal approach argued by the defence could somewhat push the boundaries of the not criminally responsible (NCR) test through exploring what it means to be able to make a rational choice.
Historically, she said, NCR law has been focused on cases involving psychosis or specific delusions. But there are emerging areas of research looking at how, for example, an acquired brain injury can affect decision-making. “The law evolves based on evolving science and the law has to be responsive to what the science tells us,” she said.
Szigeti said she understands the fears expressed by people with autism about being wrongly associated with dangerousness and violence, fears which are shared by people with psychotic disorders. However, it’s also important not to stigmatize not criminally responsible verdicts which exist to ensure fairness for people who are not responsible for their actions in the moment due to a mental disorder, she said.
“We have to re-emphasize that NCR itself does not equate to dangerousness in a class of people at all, or even dangerousness in a person necessarily,” she said, speaking generally.
“Whether science is new, whether the experts are duelling, whether the offences are of a particularly heinous nature with incredible tragic loss of life, at the end of the day the question is about fairness and do we incarcerate someone who did not have the capacity for rational, moral agency?”
anitaszigeti 