Mental health NCRMD vs fitness for trial and Buzziak murder investigation info still secret

Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan:
All too often, people with serious mental illnesses end up in the criminal justice system when they are not afforded adequate and sustained medical treatment.
In a case discussed on the show, a man who had suffered from multiple mental health issues since he was eight years old was charged with assault with a weapon and aggravated assault after he attacked a relative and an elderly neighbour one day after he was released from jail.
The man suffered from a range of mental health issues, including schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, neurological impairment, traumatic brain injury and the toxic effect of extensive and severe substance use.
For many years he had been convicted of various criminal offences. He was repeatedly incarcerated. He would receive some treatment, be released, re-offend, and go back to jail.
The man first began hearing voices at age 17. He believed that the devil Lucifer had stalked him. He had twice carved “666” into his arm as part of these beliefs and then scratched the numbers out with deeper cuts as he would subsequently become afraid that he could not go to heaven while bearing the marks. For years he believed that by drinking his urine, he could keep evil spirits away. He would also keep feces beneath his bed to trap evil spirits so that he could flush them away.
He attacked an elderly neighbour and his cousin the day after being released from jail because he believed Lucifer had told him they had sexually abused others. He believed that he was an angel working to protect victims of sexual assault.
The elderly neighbour suffered cigarette burns, facial bruising, a broken jaw, and several broken teeth.
The case is a tragic example of the inadequacy of long-term, secure mental health treatment facilities in British Columbia. The legislation to do this exists in the form of the Mental Health Act. What is not available are sufficient, secure, long-term treatment resources.
Putting someone like this man into jail does little to address his lifelong mental health needs and does not protect the public for any longer than each jail sentence.
In the case discussed, the man was initially unfit to stand trial. This means he couldn’t understand basic things, such as the nature of the proceeding.
After seven months of intensive mental health treatment, he was determined to be fit to stand trial.
Then, with the assistance of a lawyer, he admitted that he had committed the offences. The only issue for the judge was whether he should be found not criminally responsible as a result of a mental disorder (NCRMD).
An NCRMD finding can occur when someone is suffering from a mental disorder that prevented them from knowing what they did was wrong at the time.
The judge hearing the case, concluded that the man was NCRMD. As a result, he will remain in a secure mental health facility indefinitely unless he is no longer determined to be a danger.
Also, on the show, an application to unseal documents relating to the investigation of the murder of a Victoria realtor by the name of Lindsay Buziak in February of 2008 is discussed. The application was denied on the basis that the judge concluded the investigation was still active after 14 years and that permitting public access to the material could result in others being placed at serious risk of physical harm.
Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.