On Monday, doctors from the Selkirk Mental Health Centre told a Criminal Review Board Hearing that Vincent Li has made significant progress in his treatment. Indeed, the risk of Li re-offending according to his medical handlers is only about 1 per cent. Based on this new diagnosis, the Review Board was asked to give Li extended privileges within the facility. Previously, Lii has been allowed passes to walk on hospital grounds, provided he has direct supervision. Now doctors are suggesting Li is doing so well with the daily 60-to-90 minute walks that he should be allowed general supervision like any other patient at the hospital.
A second proposal that was made involves Li being permitted to take 30-minute excursions away from the hospital within Selkirk, provided he is accompanied at all times by a peace officer and a nurse. His doctors say those passes can be extended by up to 15 minutes per week, provided there are no incidents and he continues to make great strides.
Within the request to the Board, there is no indication that the community would be made aware of Li’s presence in their neighborhood. In fact, his doctors suggested the accompanying peace officers should be allowed to wear plain clothes to avoid drawing extra attention to Li.
Carol de Delley, Tim McLean’s mother, disagrees. She believes that Li is “a very unpredictably dangerous person.” Carol has given numerous media interviews in an attempt to heighten the awareness of the issues surrounding Vincent Li. While she is not concerned about security and surveillance while Li is in the care of the hospital, De Delley does question his activities outside of confinement. “What happens when he’s not in care anymore?”
The answer to this question has not been forthcoming. At the Hearing, the Crown did not raise any opposition to the proposals. Why would she? Li was described as having a “low risk of reoffending” and described as a “nice gentle guy”. Ironically, however, Li sat quietly through the Hearing in leg irons. On face value, it would appear that the members of the board only trust him in the Selkirk neighborhood.
Unfortunately, it is expected that Vincent Li will be given more freedom in the days to come. The Board is expected to render their decision shortly.
Signing the petition for Tim’s Law is showing support for a dialogue that weighs the rights of all sides of this discussion.