Tim Mclean Case Study

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The death of Tim McLean in 2008 on the Greyhound bus in Winnipeg was an absolute tragedy, the details of course absolutely horrendous. Vince Li, now known as Will Lee Baker, was considered to not be criminally responsible on account of his schizophrenia. There was of course a lot of public drawback at that decision at the time, including the victim's family. Recently Will Baker was granted an absolute discharge, which allows him to effectively become a full member of society again, though he has volunteered himself for inspections to ensure he continues his medication. This has led to quite a bit of controversy as many believe he should be jailed or executed for the death of Tim McLean. McLean's family has been fairly outspoken against the …show more content…

Some believe Baker should never be released, some believe now that he is “cured” he should then face charges for the murder of Tim McLean.

When it comes to looking at the psychological system at play there are a few elements and areas to look at. There is of course the direct psychological link between Vince Li and his psychlogist/physicans/mental health board. The Canadian Mental Health Association stands by their decision that Vince Li has been treated, which would logically follow that they do not believe he will not act out again.

However, the more interesting situation to look at it the emotional arguments made against Vince Li's situation. Many arguments are made against him, such as, psychology is not a certain science, Vince Li has went off his medications before (inaccurate), he should be punished whether or not he is mentally ill or that it is unfair that criminals have more rights than the victims. All of these arguments are made by people that are generally coming from a place of concern for the victim and his family. It is understandable that many would be in more support of Tim McLean and his family than of Vince Li. However, many of these arguments are coming from an emotional place, instead of a logical place, placing pre-conceived notions of mental illness and Canada's justice system before anything. Many “facts”

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