Greyhound bus killer granted more freedom

Greyhound bus killer Vince Li will be granted more freedom and less supervision at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, in a decision released by officials late Thursday afternoon.

The Manitoba Review Board agreed with a psychiatrist’s testimony at a hearing earlier this week that the 43 year old paranoid schizophrenic is stable and should be allowed extended outings on the grounds of the hospital north of Winnipeg. The board says "passes start at one hour and increase incrementally to full days." The decision released today does not define "full days" but at Li’s annual hearing earlier this week, Dr. Steven Kremer recommended between 9 am and 9 pm.

Last year, the board sparked a storm of controvery when it agreed to let Li out of the secure ward of the hospital for the first time, for outings on hospital grounds beginning at 15 minutes and extending up to two hours.

Li was also required to be escorted by a hospital staff member and two security guards: but under the decision released Thursday, the requirement for security guards during his outings has been dropped. He will now only be accompanied by a staff member equipped with a two way radio or cell phone.

Li was charged with second degree murder but found not criminally responsible due to mental illness for the gruesome July 2008 slaying of Tim McLean. Both men were passengers on a Greyhound bus bound for Winnipeg when Li pulled out a knife and stabbed McLean to death, then beheaded and dismembered the corpse in front of horrified passengers.

McLean’s mother has been a vocal critic of how the legal system handled Li’s case, and after the board’s latest decision was released Thursday, repeated her fear that Li is on the fast track to complete freedom.

"Each year it will be more of an increase in his liberties and freedoms until ultimately one day his let go with no criminal record," Carol DeDelley told Global News.

Last year, Crown attorneys opposed but did not appeal the board’s decision to grant Li increased freedoms but the justice minister insisted on tighter security before Li’s outings began. Earlier in the day, the minister repeated his opposition to further freedom for Li, but it’s not clear if the Selinger government will intervene in the decision.

"I support the Crown attorney," Andrew Swan said Thursday.