Not Criminally Responsible and the Role of Schizophrenia

• Author: Richard D. Schneider
• Pages: 89-171

g h

i j

 3

NOT CRIMINALLY

RESPONSIBLE

AND THE ROLE OF

SCHIZOPHRENIA

[  ]

1

    a ten-minute walk from my home. Today

I was up and out the door earlier than usual. I walked into the court-

house through the doors on the northwest corner of the building

at Bay and Albert streets, as I usually do, at around : a.m. As

I entered the building, police ocers were standing around in

unusual numbers at the door to Courtroom . Odd, I thought, as

I walked toward the courtroom.

“What’s up, ocer?” I say to the rst member of law enforcement

with whom I make eye contact.

“Someone broke into your courtroom last night and did a little

damage.” (It’s not my courtroom, but many in the building refer to

it that way as I am the judge most frequently sitting in the mental

health court.)

As I made my way toward the side entrance, I ask, “Oh? What

did they do?”

“Well, as you can see . . .” the ocer said, as I keep on walking.

A window had been broken on the west side of the building

facing Bay Street. There was writing on the courtroom wall that was

unmistakeably the work of one of our customers. On the back wall

was scrawled: “Believe in the Law”; on the wall in the prisoner’s box:

“ [sic]    ”; around Canada’s coat of arms, which is on

the wall behind my chair: “The Truth,” “The Law is Good!,” “God is

great,” “Judge Ment,” and: