Who is Dr. Jonathan Rootenberg??

“Psychiatric expert” from CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) in Toronto, Dr. Jonathan Rootenberg, who for all that we know is unable to tell the difference between compulsive behaviour and psychotic behaviour, determined that Vincent Li “Greyhound beheader” and a cannibal who killed and dismembered Timothy McLean of Winnipeg on a bus in Manitoba last July was psychotic when he killed his victim.

One does not have to be a psychiatrist, one just have to observe Dr. Rootenberg in person and listen to him speak for a while to quickly realise that “our psychiatric expert” is trying very hard to cope with some very serious mental handicaps.

First odd thing that one observes it the voice; Dr. Rootenberg’s False Ego voice that he uses to peddle his “psychiatric expertise” sounds like a voice of a man that it at least twice the size of Dr. Rootenberg. One could speculate that Dr. Rootenberg’s father was or still is twice the size of Dr. Jonathan Rootenberg and this False Ego voice is his father’s voice.

Once we manage to get over oddity of the voice and take a good look at Dr. Rootenberg’s performance we realise that Dr. Rootenberg’s mimics and gesticulation is very much overdone and it is produced consciously for public consumption. Not in spirit of good acting of a great actor imposing his persona on others in his presence, more in a way of a fake and an impostor who desperately keeps monitoring others to make sure that they keep on swallowing this mask that his False Ego keeps on generating.

Sadly, “Video” produced by Dr. Rootenberg’s False Ego keeps on lagging his “Audio” creating “Doppler Effect” commonly seen in badly dubbed Class B movies.

If that was not bad enough Dr. Rootenberg’s well rehearsed answers to prescript questions are delivered with this “Incredible Lightness of Being” tone of voice so characteristic for people suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Once we overcome all these visual and audio effects and try to concentrate on merit of things that we hear from him we have to sift thru this barrage of magic words; “major mental illness”, “delusional thinking”, “psychotic episode” and when we filter them out there is no independent thought left but a desperate plea to the listeners “But, these psychotropic drugs do help this patient to gain some insight into nature of his illness, do they not, but why?? They should.”

Since I saw Dr. Jonathan Rootenberg on March 17, 2009 delivering his performance to a very limited audience at CAMH during ORB (Ontario Review Board) Hearing I am willing to cut him some slack and I am willing to take this flight of imagination and presume that in the Courtroom he does significantly better. Does it in any way shape or form help Canadian justice system to somehow repair their tarnished image??

You be the judge:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/03/04/mb-li-trial.html
Bus beheading trial ends with both sides seeking same verdict
Judge promises decision Thursday morning
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 | 1:09 PM CT
CBC News
A two-day Winnipeg trial in a case of killing and beheading on a Greyhound bus ended Wednesday with both sides seeking the same verdict — not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder.

The judge said he will deliver his verdict at 10 a.m. CT on Thursday.

Psychiatrists for the Crown and the defence agreed during the short trial that Vince Li, 40, was suffering from schizophrenia and did not know what he was doing when he killed 22-year-old Timothy McLean of Winnipeg on a bus in Manitoba last July.

The psychiatrists said Li believed he was acting on orders from God when he attacked McLean, mutilating the young man before decapitating him and eating part of the body.

Li had pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder, but Crown and defence lawyers asked that he be found not criminally responsible.

That verdict would mean he could be sent to a provincial psychiatric facility rather than to prison. He would be placed under the authority of a provincial review board with power to keep him in custody or, if he is no longer considered a risk, discharge him.

‘He has a major mental illness that …rendered him unable to know what he was doing was wrong’—Dr. Jonathan Rootenberg
Toronto psychiatrist Jonathan Rootenberg, testifying for the defence, told court Wednesday that Li suffers from schizophrenia and was probably psychotic for weeks before the attack.

Rootenberg said Li meets the criteria for an accused person who would be not criminally responsible. “He has a major mental illness that …rendered him unable to know what he was doing was wrong,” the psychiatrist said, suggesting Li knew he was stabbing someone but thought it was a demon and didn’t understand the nature of his actions.

Earlier, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Stanley Yaren, testifying for the Crown, also gave evidence that Li was diagnosed as schizophrenic and suffered from a major psychotic episode — tormented by auditory hallucinations — at the time of the killing.

Yaren testified that according to Li, God told him that McLean was a “force of evil” who was about to stab Li unless he protected himself.

Killer could one day be rehabilitated, psychiatrists say
Even after the killing, Li believed McLean had supernatural powers and would come back to life unless he dismembered the body and spread the body parts around the bus, Yaren said. Li was not capable of understanding his actions were wrong, he testified.

Both psychiatrists said that Li, although he is very ill, could one day be rehabilitated and returned to society.

The CBC’s Marisa Dragani, reporting from Winnipeg, said the trial was unusual for its brevity and lack of conflicting versions of events.

“In a murder trial, you usually hear from witnesses; you usually hear testimony about what happened, when and how,” she said. “We didn’t hear that.

“There was an agreed statement of facts, filed right off the bat, that the Crown and the defence agreed to, and that was read out in court. It was quite lengthy, and that was done to spare any of the witnesses and the family as well from reliving this horror….

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Another “Failure of the System” Designed to Protect Us?

A catalogue of failures in the care of a mental health patient who stabbed a pregnant mother-of-five to death have been highlighted in a new report.

Benjamin Holiday, 25, a paranoid schizophrenic, killed Tina Stevenson in Hull after missing his medication. An independent investigation found his mental health problem was “under-treated” and his condition should have been “more assertively managed”.

Humber Mental Health Trust has apologised to Miss Stevenson’s family.

Miss Stevenson, 31, and her unborn twins died after she was stabbed in the back by Holiday on Wellsted Street. Holiday, who said he had no recollection of the attack, pleaded guilty to her manslaughter at Hull Crown Court in May 2006 and was detained in a secure hospital.

‘Lessons learned’

After the case, his mother Christine blamed the incident on the Humber Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust, saying he had not received the correct care and medication. The sentencing judge said Benjamin Holiday was “clearly very disturbed”

Two months before Miss Stevenson was killed, Holiday was taken into a secure psychiatric unit for assessment. The report said that was a “missed opportunity” to keep him in care because he needed treatment. It also said that at times Holiday was able to dictate his own levels of treatment.

Trust chief executive David Snowdon, speaking after the report was published, said: “We apologised to the family and friends of Tina Stevenson for their loss and for the distress caused to them as a result of this tragic incident. “We also apologised to Benjamin Holiday’s family, especially his mother, Christina Holiday, for the distress caused to them.”

Mr Snowdon said the trust took the report “very seriously” and said lessons had “already been learned”. The trust also apologised after being criticised over the care of a mentally-ill man who killed his elderly mother in 2003.

Michael Torrie, then aged 43, cut his 82-year-old mother Ivy’s throat at their home in Pocklington, East Yorkshire, after a “rapid reduction” in his medication, the report said. Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said Torrie was “extremely ill” and “probably not in control of what he was doing”.

She told BBC Radio Five Live: “He’s lost his freedom and his mother has been killed in the most horrific way and all of that could have been prevented.” Mrs Wallace said Holiday should not have been able to dictate his own treatment.

She said: “He didn’t want people to interfere and yes, we ought to respect the rights of a mentally ill person, but not if they are out living in the community and not if they are a risk to themselves or others.”

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Cure For Criminal Insanity

Cure for criminal insanity discovered!!!
Friday, March 6th, 2009

We must assume that such a cure has been found.

Vince Li (the nut who decapitated an innocent passenger on a bus) was found to be not criminally responsible for his act due to insanity the other day. It is hardly unexpected that Li was determined to be a lunatic. A person does not exactly need their doctorate in psychology in order to conclude that Vince Li was crazy. Of course, how many people who commit murder have all of their marbles rolling around correctly anyway?

I do not believe in a vengeful justice system. As horrific as the murder that Li committed was, I am not one of those calling for his execution or a lifetime of daily torture in a deep hole. What I do believe though is that the protection of the public must be paramount!

While some people are expressing shock and rage with Li’s being found not responsible, the usual hug-a-thug crowd is quick to come in and point out that Li will likely never be released back into the public. That would indeed be comforting if indeed there was any reason to believe it. Unfortunately that is nowhere near the truth in Canada’s “justice” system.

The media did not need to dig too deeply to find a local example of an insane murder released among us with a paltry amount of time served in a nuthouse.
Steven Gaeten Lee (the clearly remorseful man pictured above) murdered Steven Tavares in a Kananaskis hotel room in 2004. Tavares’ body was found to be viciously perforated by 28 stab wounds.

Well, Lee was found to be not criminally responsible due to being insane. We were assured that he would be in an institution for a very long time.

Steven Gaeten Lee was released last May!

Perhaps I am being simplistic, but would it not take a little more than three years to confidently “cure” a man who is capable of committing such an act?

We must assume that he has been cured. The institution would never have released him otherwise right? I must have missed the headlines when this cure for insanity was discovered. Criminal insanity has plagued humanity for centuries, one would think that the cure for such a condition would have been trumpeted far and wide. Sorry folks, there is no way that a person who can commit acts as Li and Lee did could ever be considered safe and stable.

Obsessive compulsive disorders take years of treatment to bring under control (they are never cured), how the hell is murderous rampaging exactly cured?

Li is a young man and we can rest assured that his crazy and dangerous ass will be walking Canada’s streets again.

The benefit of the doubt is given to these killers far too often and the public is paying the price. Just ask the families of the victims that Gingras killed when on a three day rampage after being released from an Edmonton institution.

The safety of the public must come before giving the benefit of the doubt to these nuts.

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N.C.R Not knowing what you did was wrong?

Evidence of Knowledge of Wrongfulness

1) Efforts to avoid detection
- wearing gloves during crime
- waiting until dark
- taking victim to an isolated place
- wearing mask or disguise
- concealment of a weapon on way to crime
- falsifying documents (passport, firearm permit)
- giving a false name
- threatening to kill witnesses if they report to police
- giving a false alibi

2) Disposing of evidence
- wiping off fingerprints
- washing off blood
- discarding of murder weapon
- burying a murder victim secretly
- destroying incriminating documents
3) Efforts to avoid detection
- fleeing from the crime scene
- fleeing from the police
- lying to the police

4)Statement by the defendant that he or she knew the act was wrong at the time of the offense

5) Notifying the police that a crime was committed

6) Expression of remorse or guilt after the crime committed

7) Absence of hallucinations or delusions suggesting that the offense was justified

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The only voice I hear is Tim’s

Vince Li has been found not criminally responsible for the gruesome murder and beheading of Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus last summer because he is mentally ill.

Both the Crown and the defence agreed that Li is a schizophrenic who was suffering from a psychotic episode when he killed the 22-year-old McLean.
Li, 40, will now be remanded to a secure psychiatric facility where he will receive treatment. A review panel will decide in the next six weeks which facility he will be transferred to.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to begin with a warning. The commentary I am about to offer you has graphic details that you may not want to expose your children to. They concern a hideous event that took place on a bus near Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Today, a judge ruled on whether the man with the knife was criminally responsible. The ruling was a foregone conclusion, since this was a trial where the defence and prosecution were on the same page, both telling the judge that the defendant was NOT guilty legally, NOT criminally responsible for his actions. And today Justice John Scurfield, having no legal choice in the matter, acted lawfully when he ruled that Vincent Li was not criminally responsible. Li is being sent to an institution where he will receive treatment and assessed annually and some day a team of psychiatrists may decide that Vincent Li is ready to resume his life as a free man. For many people that is the end of the trail. For the victim’s mother, she wants a law passed, Tim’s law, that says if you are found NOT criminally responsible after having killed somebody, where there is no doubt who did the killing, that if you are committed to a mental facility, that you go there for life. I AGREE with her.

I know that the overwhelming majority of you agree with her. But there are times in this country where we are told by people with far more power than they deserve to have, that the MAJORITY is savagely ignorant, caring only about low rent emotions like revenge, and should be kept as far away as possible from decisions like this.

As a country we are being asked to accept the idea that if a man is suffering from a mental illness when committing the most hideous of crimes, then we must park our desire for punishment, we must avoid our feelings for the family of the victim, we must focus on one thing and one thing only and that is the current mindset and current ideology of Canada’s Psychiatric Community, who individually are for the most part, good and decent people, but collectively on some issues are not necessarily the country’s most reliable friends.

There are also many people in this country suffering from mental illness. Their families and friends are suffering with them. And many of them OVER-IDENTIFY with Vincent Li. Many of them say if the Majority of Canadians have a beef with this decision, they have a beef with all people who are suffering with mental illness, and if they think that someone who is suffering should be sent to an institution with no hope of ever getting out, the slippery slope is being created for all people suffering. This is where Canadians have to put up the stop sign and say, “I am sorry to inform you, that this is not about you or a member of your family. This is about someone who killed a young man and then proceeded to eat his kill.” And while many people are suffering from mental illness and deserve compassion and treatment, they are not all VINCENT LI and we’re not creating a more just and rational Canada by over-identifying with him. We are creating precisely the opposite.

I want to take you to the event in question by reading in a very straight forward way, the story that was filed by the Canadian Press earlier this week and appeared on news sites and newspapers all over the world.

The man who beheaded a passenger on a Greyhound bus was a victim himself, tormented by the voice of God telling him to do it, a forensic psychiatrist told Vince Li’s second-degree murder trial.

The voice told Li to use an assumed name and get on the bus traveling from Edmonton to Thunder Bay last July, Dr. Stanley Yaren said on the first day of Li’s trial.

Li chose to sit next to Tim McLean because McLean made a “friendly gesture’’ to him, Yaren said.

As the bus neared Portage la Prairie, Man., around 8:30 p.m., 40-year-old Li started hearing voices.

“A voice from God told him Mr. McLean was a force of evil and was about to execute him,’’ Yaren told the judge hearing the case.

“He had to act fast to protect himself. In response to that, in a state of panic and fearful for his life, he carried out the acts that he did.’’

Killing McLean wasn’t enough, Yaren said.

Li, whom Yaren diagnosed as schizophrenic, believed 22-year-old McLean was capable of coming back to life, so he continued to mutilate the body and scattered the parts around the bus, the psychiatrist testified.

Although he admitted his guilt to officers that night, Li pleaded not guilty yesterday. His lawyers are arguing he is not criminally responsible because he is mentally ill. (more…)

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Greyhound Security Measures… are they kidding

Geyhounds increased security measures are a joke as we’ve all come to realize. The only reason they did anything at all was not because of what happened to Timothy rather it was to quiet the public demand for them to do something…anything. Was it a coincidence that these increased measures were put in place in late fall just prior to the upcoming holiday season? They did not want their ridership numbers to drop so they provided the public with a false sense of security. They published in the newspapers which 3 major terminals would be conducting the searches. I guess maybe criminals cannot read and figure out where NOT to board a bus with weapons or other banned items.(Vince Li did not get on the bus at a major depot) Until they, (Greyhound) get serious, checking and searching at all terminals, all passengers, and all luggage all the time and not after noon when security begins(I guess violent offenders don’t travel before noon). How do we the public even begin to take them seriously? what a joke, I find it insults our intelligence

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What Victim’s Should Know About N.C.R

• What Victims of Crime Should Know About Not Criminally Responsible Accused

The purpose of this pamphlet is to explain to victims of crime what happens when the Court finds the person accused of the crime to be “not criminally responsible” due to mental illness. Many people, including victims, are unsure of how the justice system handles cases involving mentally disordered accused. People often think that mentally disordered accused are acquitted which is not the case. This pamphlet explains the role of the Criminal Code Review Board in assessing the accused and making a disposition. It will also help victims understand their rights such as making victim impact statements at Review Board Hearings, obtaining information about the accused, and finding out about the status of the case.
What does a finding of ‘not criminally responsible’ mean?
A finding of ‘not criminally responsible’ means that the judge or jury has a reached a verdict that:
* the accused committed the offence;
* the accused, at the time of the offence, had a mental disorder that prevented him or her from appreciating the nature and quality of the offence; and

* the accused did not know that it was wrong.

What happens when the Court finds an accused ‘not criminally responsible’? In order to determine what happens to the accused, the Court will:

* hold a disposition hearing and issue an initial disposition order and the Review Board would then have 90 days from the time of the verdict to hold a hearing; or
* refer the case to the Review Board, established under the Criminal Code, for disposition. The Review Board must make an initial disposition within 45 days of the verdict unless the Court extends the time up to a period of 90 days.

What is the Review Board?

The Review Board is appointed under the Criminal Code to make or review the disposition of accused persons who have been found unfit for trial or “not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder”. The Board is made up of at least five members. The chairperson must be a judge, retired judge or person qualified to be appointed as a judge. There must be at least one licensed psychiatrist. When the Board sits to review cases, at least three members must be present, including the chairperson and the psychiatrist. (more…)

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Bill C-30: an attractive option for defendants

A Follow-Up Study of Persons Found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder in British Columbia
On February 4, 1992, significant changes were made to the mental disorder provisions contained in the Canadian Criminal Code following the introduction of Bill C-30 (1). These amendments were proclaimed into force after the Supreme Court of Canada declared—in R v Swain (2)—that the Criminal Code sections pertaining to the automatic detention of individuals deemed not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) were in violation of sections 7 and 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Objective: To describe the characteristics of individuals found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) after the 1992 Criminal Code amendments and to track their movement through the forensic system, as well as to unveil the changes to British Columbia’s forensic psychiatric system that resulted from Bill C-30.

Method: Profile information relating to persons found NCRMD between February 4, 1992, and February 4, 1998, in British Columbia was collected and analyzed. Community follow-up data was collected and analyzed for a 24-month period following a subject’s discharge from hospital.

Results: A substantially greater number of individuals entered the forensic psychiatric system in British Columbia after Bill C-30 was implemented. The post-1992 forensic psychiatric population contained fewer persons charged with serious index offences and a greater number of persons charged with relatively minor offences. The length of hospitalization for the NCRMD cohort decreased substantially after the 1992 Criminal Code amendments.

Conclusion: The Bill C-30 provisions have made the NCRMD defence an attractive option for defendants and legal counsel.

The study made a number of interesting points including the average length of initial hospitalization for persons discharged to the community according to the most serious index offence, presented in Table 2.

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The Schizophrenia Society of Canada: We can solve this…

The following news clip attribute statements  to The Schizophrenia Society of Canada:

While we understand and empathize with Timothy’s mother and the McLean family and support their concern for public safety, we do not believe that the proposed “Tim’s Law”, which would have individuals deemed Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) incarcerated for life, is the solution. Both Tim McLean and Mr. Li are victims of a complete psychotic episode, in which Mr. Li had no insight and awareness of his actions.

Yet this same group states

The Schizophrenia Society of Canada is urging the federal government to adopt a national mental health strategy that is recovery-oriented and encompasses mental health literacy, mental health promotion, early intervention, adequate treatment as well as community supports and services.

The article also attributes this statement

Vince Li was beginning treatment at a mental health facility in Ontario as an involuntary patient. But he left the hospital without anyone apparently intervening. Therefore it raises the question about whether the mental health care system responded appropriately in this case.

More taxpayer’s dollars!

Does this sound right? It would be acceptable for health professionals to intervene, prior to a crime being committed… but unacceptable to protect the public after the person has committed a heinous crime … lawyers would have a field day at the taxpayers expense!

The following is the news story in its entirety:

The Schizophrenia Society of Canada (SCC) extends its sympathy to both the McLean family and the Li family as they struggle to come to terms with the tragic incident around the death of Timothy McLean.

The Schizophrenia Society of Canada remains concerned about the negative or limited information that exists regarding individuals with schizophrenia and psychosis. This has been evident in the recent case of Vincent Li.

(more…)

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