Speculation about hate crime pointless: expert
Posted Apr 19, 2012 06:25:56 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The violent murder of a prominent gay-rights activist has spurred public outrage and speculation that Raymond Taavel’s death may have been a hate crime, legal and mental health experts are urging the public not to rush to judgement.
The defense lawyer for Andre Noel Denny, 32, said his client is not capable of committing a hate crime.
“He has no history of hate crimes,” said Pavel Boubnov before Denny’s court appearance Wednesday. “He’s aboriginal himself. He’s aware of discrimination issues. The reason for whatever happened is just the nature of his mental illness.”
Boubnov said his client was diagnosed as a schizophrenic at age 15 and that he is not violent when he is properly medicated – but said Denny can become violent when using substances such as alcohol.
Denny was released on a pass from the East Coast Forensic Hospital Monday evening at 7:30 and didn’t return as expected at 8:30 p.m.
Taavel, 49, was fatally beaten and found bleeding on Gottingen Street around 2:39 a.m. Tuesday. Police said he had tried to break up a fight between two other men when he was assaulted.
A Dalhousie University law professor said people should be careful about making too many assumptions about what motivated the killing.
“It’s always a concern in a high-profile case involving violent crime that the public will make assumptions far too early about the nature of the offender and the character of the crime,” Archie Kaiser told the Canadian Press. “The risk of a legal and public policy setback is always present in a high-profile case involving the intersection of criminality and mental illness.”
A Halifax physician and mental health expert said society needs to work on providing the best medical care regardless of their circumstances.
“We really have to invest more into providing treatment for people rather than putting people in jail,” Stan Kutcher told the Rick Howe Show Wednesday. “People who have mental illnesses are no more likely to commit violent acts than people who done, and people who have mental illnesses are much more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of violence.”
Denny has been remanded to a psychiatric hospital at the Burnside Correctional Facility for a psychiatric assessment.
He is due back in court May 17.
