the way that we deal with "not criminally responsible" is incoherent, because we focus the law around the concept of punishment rather than around the concept of prevention.

a punitive system has no choice but to conclude that somebody that is incapable of understanding what they are doing should not be punished for their actions. and, i'll agree that - on that basis - a punishment does seem unfair.

but, a preventative system would conclude that somebody that is incapable of understanding what they are doing couldn't possibly be released because there is no way to conclude that they will not pose a threat to the community.

it is obviously the case that vince li should be in a hospital for the rest of his life, with no chance of release. he walked on to a bus and beheaded somebody. it is absurd to even consider the premise of releasing him, after this. the correct way to arise at this obvious outcome is by avoiding the discussion of whether he should be punished or not and focusing on the question of preventing harm to the community.

once again, we see that socialists have different value systems than conservatives - even when we agree on outcomes.

not criminally responsible should be a life sentence with no parole.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/vince-li-discharge-1.3977278