A schizophrenic man who beheaded a fellow Greyhound bus passenger in Canada in 2008, has been granted his freedom.
Will Baker, formerly known as Vince Li, killed Tim McLean, 22, a young carnival worker who was sitting next to him during a bus ride to Winnipeg in 2008.
Baker later claimed he beheaded and cannibalized McLean after hearing “the voice of God”.
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After being found not criminally responsible for the 2008 attack and serving just nine years, the former Chinese national was granted an absolute discharge on Friday by Canadian authorities.
The man known as the Bus Beheader is no longer perceived as posing a threat to society, so long that he maintains his medication, Manitoba’s Criminal Code Review Board has decided.
Meet Will Baker, formerly known as Vince Li, bus-beheader. https://t.co/iULXEE1qJ5 pic.twitter.com/kHfIhLNOAP
— Ottawa Sun (@ottawasuncom) 24 February 2016
Man who beheaded passenger on Greyhound bus granted freedom https://t.co/m0UcQd1xoD
— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) 10 February 2017
The Globe and Mail reports:
That means he will no longer be subject to any conditions or monitoring to ensure he takes his medication.
Manitoba’s Criminal Code Review Board granted a request from Will Baker’s lawyer to give Baker his full freedom, nine years after the brutal stabbing that horrified passengers.
The board “is of the opinion that the weight of evidence does not substantiate that Mr. Baker poses a significant threat to the safety of the public,” the written decision read in part.
Baker, formerly known as Vince Li, was initially kept in a secure wing of a psychiatric hospital. He was granted more freedom and privileges every year at his review board hearings, starting with escorted walks on the hospital grounds.
His doctors described him as a model patient who had not been treated for schizophrenia at the time of his attack. After his arrest and placement at the hospital, he responded well to medication and understood that he must continue to take it to keep his illness at bay, they said.
Baker started living on his own in a Winnipeg apartment last November but was still subject to rules and nightly monitoring to ensure he took his medication. His lawyer has asked the review board Monday to strip away the remaining conditions and give Baker complete freedom.
The victim’s mother, Carol de Delley, has been outspoken against granting Baker freedom, arguing there would be no way to ensure he continued to take his medication.
She declined comment Friday in a Facebook post.
“I have no words,” she wrote.
Conservative member of Parliament James Bezan has also criticized Baker’s release. He said earlier in the week it would be an insult to de Delley and McLean’s other relatives.
Baker’s defenders include Chris Summerville, executive director of the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society, who has met and worked with him over the years.
“He is no longer a violent person,” Summerville said.
“I will say, yes, he absolutely understands that he has to (take his medication) and has a desire to live a responsible, moral life and never succumb to psychotic episodes and not to hurt anybody ever again.”
On the night of the attack, Baker sat next to 22-year-old Tim McLean — a complete stranger — after the young man smiled at him and asked how he was doing.
Baker said he heard the voice of God telling him to kill the young carnival worker or “die immediately.”
He repeatedly stabbed McLean while the young man fought for his life. As passengers fled the bus, Baker continued stabbing and mutilating the body.
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 ruling added there must be clear evidence of a significant risk to the public for the review board to continue imposing conditions after a person is found not criminally responsible.
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Edmondo Burr
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A sick society. He should be given the appropriate dose of Fentanyl.
My heart goes out to the family, in this savage killing. Only 9 years and he is a free man, as long as he takes his medication,my question is what happens if he stops and there is another victim. Why as a society are the courts so lenient and creative in their court decisions. Judges seem to strive to outdo themselves in their judgments. For taking a persons life he should remain in prison for at least 25 years, 9 nine years and full parole is inexcusable, shame on our court system.
Probably a good thing there is no inter provincial bus service in Canada any longer….