Vince Li could get absolute discharge
CBC News | Posted: February 5, 2017 10:56 PM | Last Updated: February 6, 2017
Medical team to appear before Criminal Code Review Board Monday; have suggested increased freedom every year
The man who was found not criminally responsible for a beheading on a Greyhound bus could be given complete freedom after a Manitoba Criminal Code Review Board hearing on Monday.
Vince Li, who now goes by the name Will Baker, has already been living free in the community with some conditions since last year. He killed 22-year-old Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus in 2008.
He could get an "absolute discharge," depending on what his medical team has to say at his annual review hearing.
Baker has to go before the Manitoba Criminal Review Board every year, as they determine whether a person who is found not criminally responsible poses a threat to the safety of the public.
Last year Baker was discharged with some conditions that included taking his medication under supervision, disclosing his address to his medical team, and having no contact with the victim's family.
- Canadian Press preview of tomorrow's hearing
- ANALYSIS: Vince Li OK'd to move to Winnipeg group home
- Department of Justice fact sheet on NCR
The board's other option — if Baker is found not to be a threat to the public — is to grant an absolute discharge. He would no longer be required to attend annual reviews and or abide by conditions. Experts say NCR offenders are unlikely to reoffend.
In 2008, Baker was sitting next to McLean on a bus near Portage la Prairie when he repeatedly stabbed McLean and mutilated his body.
He was found not criminally responsible because of his schizophrenia. Baker believed he was chosen by God to save people from an alien attack.
The not criminally responsible designation has been a fundamental principle of Canada's justice system since 1992. The accused persons must have the capacity to understand that what they did was wrong — otherwise they can't be found guilty of an offence.
Will Baker's allowed to:
2016: live independently in Winnipeg, with conditions
2015: live in a halfway house in Winnipeg.
2014: moved to unlocked ward. Allowed unescorted trips into Selkirk, beginning at 30 minutes and working up.
2013: supervised visits to Winnipeg and beaches near Selkirk.
2012: short, escorted outings from hospital.
2011: Doctors say Baker could be ready for unescorted walks on hospital grounds within a year.
2010: Daily walks on hospital grounds.
- Click here for a timeline of the events leading up to and directly following the killing.
Every change to Baker's conditions seems to prompt controversy, from McLean's family rallying for a law to change NCR rules, to a law professor complaining about meddling politicians.
McLean's mother, Carol de Delley, has been outspoken in her belief that Baker should stay locked up.
- Doc Zone: Not Criminally Responsible
- The Fifth Estate: The Man Who Hears Voices
- High-profile cases and the 'not criminally responsible' defence
But every year the review board has granted him more and more freedom, because doctors have labelled him a "model patient" and low risk to society.
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1999 that a review board must order an absolute discharge if a person doesn't pose a significant threat to public safety.
The hearing, held in Winnipeg, begins at 1 p.m.