RSSA murderer should not be allowed “access to the community” 2 years into his sentence
Apr 07
What? Child killer Schoenborn granted chance at escorted access to community. Really? What?
I’m all for people receiving proper treatment when found guilty but “not criminally responsible”, but after murdering 3 kids in cold blood (his own kids, no less) I’m appalled that such a person would ever have “access to the community” again in their life.
Apr 07, 2011 @ 07:32:09
He isn’t a murderer nor did he act “in cold blood.” Those are your conclusions, not those of the trial judge who found him not criminally responsible after weighing all the evidence. When you look at the legal test for criminal insanity, it comes down to an inability to comprehend the wrongness of the act. Just being a bit wobbly on the mental axis doesn’t cut it. That is why this defence is so rarely invoked and even more rarely succeeds.
You, it seems, favour the American approach which uses prisons to deal with their mentally ill.
Apr 07, 2011 @ 07:43:46
@MoS – I’d appreciate if you read my comments before posting an attempt to rebut them. I specifically said “I’m all for people receiving proper treatment”, but proper treatment should not include this person roaming around “the community”. They should not be tossed into a jail cell and forgotten; I’m all for getting the person the best treatment possible to ensure the rest of their life can be as good as possible. But, we can’t escape the fact that this person murdered 3 people.
Being found “not criminally responsible” for murdering 3 people does not mean the person is not a murderer, in real life. I realize the distinctions are more nuanced in the legal system, but I think it’s perfectly reasonable that “society” would not feel safe sitting beside a person who killed 3 people at a Starbucks.