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The concern, of course, is if that captor comes back. Under Canadian law, those who are found NCR are generally either detained in hospital, released on conditional discharge or released on an absolute discharge, meaning they are no longer subjected to regular monitoring. Li is at the conditional discharge stage: he will be allowed to live on his own, but will be subject to daily monitoring and will be required to complete regular drug tests. If the court eventually decides that Li “does not pose a significant threat to the safety of the public,” he will be given an absolute discharge and released from the system entirely.

The threat Li poses while monitored, on his medication, is entirely different from that which he poses if he should decide to throw away his pills

This is where the issue of individual freedom vs. public safety becomes more complicated. Yes, the rates of recidivism among those found NCR are much lower than those who are found guilty, sent to prison and subsequently released. And yes, it would be unjust to continue punishing Li because of something he did while he was ill. But the threat he poses while monitored, on his medication, is entirely different from that which he poses if he should decide to throw away his pills. What happens then?

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Mental health advocates would probably argue that it would be unfair to subject someone like Li to monitoring for the rest of his life. And they’d be absolutely right — it is unfair. But nothing about mental illness is fair: it’s not fair that Li happened to be struck with paranoid schizophrenia and will have to take medication every single day for the rest of his life, it’s not fair that everyone on the Greyhound that night will be forever plagued by what they witnessed and, most of all, it’s unfair that Tim McLean lost his life in such a horrific way, and that his family has been left to pick up the pieces.

Li doesn’t deserve to be indefinitely punished for something that was beyond his control, but at the same time, he shouldn’t be entirely free of the system precisely because of what he’s capable of when and if he loses control. It’s an unfair, imperfect solution, but it’s the best shot at justice — for everyone.

National Post

Robyn Urback • rurback@nationalpost.com | robynurback