Tim Mclean’s mother says she went to bed last night, praying that she would get some sleep. Something that’s eluded her since her son was beheaded on a Grey Hound Bus in 2008. She says the annual review board hearings for her son’s killer, Vince Li, don’t help
“I call it the review board flu because I fell achy, I feel exhausted, I feel sick to my stomach,” said Carol de Delley.
A provincial review board decided Thursday Li should be granted unescorted in walks in Selkirk, the community that’s also home to the mental health facility where he’s receiving treatment.
“It terrifies me,” said de Delley. “Fundamentally I don’t think he should have that right. I don’t think I should have to worry about it. I don’t think I should have to be looking over my shoulder or wondering.”
READ MORE: Should Vince Li be granted unescorted visits? Experts weigh in
The review board also decided Li should be moved to an unlocked ward at the hospital.
de Delley has championed for stiffer penalties for those found Not Criminally Responsible, or NCR, since her son was killed.
Meantime, the federal and provincial governments issued statements blaming each other for the review board decision. Manitoba’s top federal MP, Heritage Minister Shelly Glover, said: “The provincial decision to grant Mr. Li unescorted trips is wrong. We call upon Manitoba’s Attorney General Andrew Swan to appeal this decision immediately.”
But a spokesperson for Manitoba’s provincial government said there is no avenue of appeal for a decision by a review board, which is an independent body set up under federal legislation.
“This was a decision made by the Criminal Code Review Board, based on provisions contained in the Criminal Code of Canada, which is a federal law. We asked the federal government to amend the law to make public safety the first criteria in any decisions. We are hopeful they will do that,” a spokesperson for Manitoba Justice Minister Andrew Swan wrote in an email to Global News.
Ottawa has said it is introducing changes the law that would leave those found NCR in a mental health facility for three years before they’re granted their first review. The federal public safety minister also issued a statement slamming the decision to relax restrictions on Li, and trumpeting the proposed changes to NCR laws.
de Delley says they don’t go far enough.
“Build a facility to house mentally ill killers, treat them humanely, provide them with the treatment they require to live a life free from torment of their minds. But absolutely freedom? No.”
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