It has been less than four years since Vince Li sat on a Greyhound bus with a man he had never met and decided to not only behead the guy but also eat him. All while the other passengers were on the bus. Well, a judge decided that Vince was not criminally responsible for his actions because he was insane. Apparently he is not that insane though because he convinced some board in Canada that he is well enough to leave the hospital and take short trips into Selkirk, Manitoba and see who looks appetizing there. Yes, he will be escorted when he is wandering the town, but by just one person. That person could be lunch while Vince scours the town looking for dinner. If he is well enough to go to town when will he be well enough to go to jail?
Oh, and in case you think this is just some 30 minute quickie, you would be wrong. It will start out as 30 minutes, but over time will be allowed to stay out all day and sometimes even nights too. Li's doctor says Li is not even a security risk anymore. Yeah? Here you go doctor. I have a question for you. You and your family, are you willing to let Vince move in with you? When you answer yes, you let me know. Want him babysitting your kids while you and the wife head out to dinner? When you answer yes, you let me know.
Good googly-moogly.
ReplyDeleteAre y'all up there in Canada allowed to possess and conceal-carry weapons?
Oh, Canadia...
ReplyDeleteOMG.
ReplyDeleteI'm reminded of this story every time I take the mega bus. This story is horrifying! That man should be in a mental ward, for life.
ReplyDeleteThis is beyond awful. Here is an excerpt from the report on ctv.ca:
ReplyDelete"According to the ruling, Li must be accompanied by a staff member and a security officer at all times and must only be allowed visits if doctors deem it would be "appropriate and safe for him to leave the locked ward."
The passes can be issued as of May 24."
I'm just completely shocked by some of these stories that are out there. On a bus, this freak was sitting next to a guy, cut his head off, just because, in front of everyone and proceeded to eat him.
ReplyDeleteDoes this story sound surreal and absolutely insane, or is it just me? How is this man not in prison for the rest of his life. How is he able to wander the streets, even supervised? Did they not see Silence of the Lambs? Even supervised, Hannibal killed the guards and got away. I don't care if this psycho murdered this guy because he was insane...he's a danger to mankind.
Fava beans!
ReplyDeleteWhat we have hear is a schizophrenic who is doing very well on medication. However, with some crimes....you just shouldn't be back out in the general public regardless. JMHO
ReplyDeleteAt the press conference, the doctor said he would have Li stay at his house. Of course no one called him on it but still, he said it.
ReplyDeleteThe horror of the incident will not be forgotten, nor should the victim Tim McLean, but Li was declared legally insane at the moment of his horrific crime. Vince Li has responded to his medical treatment, and is not a threat to the community. He is just a 10 minute drive down the road from where I live. I am more worried about the idiot teenages who walk down my street
ReplyDelete*Teenagers* last week I had someone peeing against my garden fence..we have gang members shooting each other..so no I'm not worried about Vince Li - I'm worried about the reality of increasing gang activity near my neighbourhood, not what if Vince Li walks by my house.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with a lot of mental illness is that the person can respond well to medication in a supervised environment, but when they are on their own they often don't want to or forget to take their medication. That is when the problems start.
ReplyDeleteGreatest defense lawyer ever or worst prosecutor ever?
ReplyDeleteI remember when this happened and it was horrifying.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens when Vince Li decides he feels awesome and doesn't think he needs his meds anymore?
Wow. Then you are a bigger person than I am, @ redronnie! I mean this sincerely.
ReplyDeleteI'd be scared of one little thing interfering with the taking of, or absorption of, this dude's meds...then BAM, there he goes again!
@crila16 - I'm w/you. So bizarre. Can you imagine CUTTING SOMEONE'S HEAD OFF FOR NO REASON? No! These things shouldn't happen IRL. Just... no.
ReplyDeleteAnd that guy scares the F out of me. When I scrolled down to his face I kind of internally jumped. He doesn't look like a nice man, and he gives me the willies.
Meds can stop working and I would prefer to have a teenager pee in my yard then behead me.
ReplyDeleteWhat in total fuckery?!?
ReplyDeleteYeah... teenagers are annoying and all, but I like my head and brains right.where.they.are thankyouverymuch. I would be pissed if this maniac was walking down my street.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of schizophrenics out there, but they don't slaughter, then eat people. I'd hate to think that the only thing between this man and someone losing their head is a little pill. Maybe I need to be more educated on the miracle of anti-psychotics?
ReplyDelete@redronnie - You make me wish I had been raised in Canada. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy living in the US, but from birth we are continually told by our parent's and tv's how scary the world is, and how we are in danger of being taken out by everything from germs to serial killers.
I live in Canada and know the story well. It's shocking and just plain wrong that this sick monster will EVER be allowed out in any capacity. The "justice" system here is a joke(we have one of the highest rates of drunk driving in the world,for instance,and the punishment is just a mere 7 days license suspension. That's it!( In other countries they get 5-10 YRS in JAIL!)People here also get a longer jail sentence for animal abuse than CHILD abuse! This country really sucks. I'd move if I could afford it!
ReplyDeleteThey actually punish animal abusers. Go Canada. You ducking rock. Don't like children. Ship them all to America.so they can live off welefare and breed. I'll be in Canada
DeleteThis case is so crazy. Certainly this guy is a lunatic, but I just find it so strange that he seemingly planned it. ANd I mean that because he told his boss like a week before the trip, but his wife wasn't even sure where he was going. And to make matters even more strange, the vic was a serious poker player. Maybe he owed some Chinese mafia $$$$, maybe I believe in too many conspiracies, but mind control hit men, non lo so.
ReplyDeleteI just don't know. This case is crazy. I'm glad you posted, I'v e yet to find anyone who heard of it nor remembers. I brought it up in my macroeconimc class a few terms ago, when discussing the need for security which strips us in airports b/c I'm pretty certain even after this case, there aren't even metal detectors one must walk through to board a bus.
Redronnie, you are living in cloud cuckoo land. Drunken teens peeing on a fence is scarier to you than a cannibalistic, murdering lunatic wandering your neighborhood? What in the what what?
ReplyDeleteI don't care if he was/is insane or not. No one who does something like this should ever be allowed to say "all better" and go out to play with others. Never ever.
I don't know what's going on up there in Canuckistan, I really don't. This is the same country that let serial sex thrill killer Karla Homolka out of prison after just 12 years.
For those commenting about what Redronnie said, you don't know what's going on in Manitoba. It's got one of the highest rates of gang violence in the country. She was being in tame with what she said, Manitoba has some really bad problems.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, this is embarrassing, as is the Karla Homolka thing but most other countries have their embarrassments too. It's very easy to paint a broad brush stroke.
Hey Texshan, wanna know how lucky I am? I live next door to her lawyer... Let's just say he's not the neighborhood favorite...
ReplyDeleteYikes, Jewels! That whole case was a study in WTFery. The whole "deal with the devil" thing was unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the Canadian legal system makes me cringe. Just watch 'Dear Zachary', which is honestly the saddest, most gut-wrenching documentary you'll ever watch. Don't get me wrong, it's still better than in the U.S., but wow sometimes they make spectacularly bad calls, like in this case. And in little Zachary's case. I am straight up crying right now just remembering that film.
ReplyDeleteKarla Holmolka is now a mother and this fvcktard is allowed out on day passes..
ReplyDeleteI love my country but these injustices make me physically ill.
Also, this guy sounds a bit like a guy my husband knew in high school named Owen. My husband, this guy, and three friends were hanging out in a living room, stone cold sober, waiting for pizza to get there. Owen walks into the kitchen, walks back into the living room with a kitchen knife, and pushes it right into the chest of the guy sitting next to my husband on the couch. Owen looks down at the guy (who was 16), pulls the knife out of his chest, bends his head down to the wound, smells it, licks it, then looks up and smiles at the kid and says, "You'll be fine, man."
ReplyDeleteThen he walks into the kitchen and put the knife in the sink, walked back into the living room, and asked if the pizza had gotten there yet. True story. My husband, on very rare occasion, has intense nightmares about the experience.
Owen died after bashing his head into a wall repeatedly while in solitary confinement a few years later.
how do the other passengers on the bus not notice a guy beheading and eating another guy?
ReplyDeleteXCentric, they noticed pretty fucking quick.
ReplyDeleteEm Cue Em: Did the poor guy die or were they able to save him, the one that got stabbed?
ReplyDeleteMaybe they can just return him to China? *Aunt Jess shrug* sorry I'm not trying to sound racist or anything-please don't take offense. I know he's been a Canadian citizen since around 2006 but can't they revoke that? He carried this poor mans head around displaying it to passengers that escaped the bus. They must have thought they were trapped in a nightmare. Just horrible!
ReplyDeleteXCentric, I recommend you Google the case. As Anita said, the others did notice, pretty fucking quick, and they did try to stop him. The victim, Tim McLean, fought for his life, too. The incident was so bizarre, it's hard to picture, I know. But numerous news stories detailed the incident. If you're the least bit interested, Google it. It will be worth your time.
ReplyDeletei could care less what mental illness he has. the fact is, he beheaded someone. a young guy headed home to see his family. of course he's ok now, he's on his meds regularly, the psychiatric nurses are making sure of it. unfortunately, he has already proven when it is left to his responsibility, he won't. his wife was interviewed and stated he knew of his condition and refused to take his meds before this incident occurred. so.... sorry, i disagree with some of you. i'm sure the victim's family would agree with me wholeheartedly when i say he should never EVER be released.
ReplyDeleteif anyone has been following the raymond taavil story or the amber kirwan case in canada, this news is really distressing on many fronts
ReplyDelete@Cosette, I don't think anyone here is saying he should be allowed visitation. And the victim's family is outraged.
ReplyDeleteThere are many things I like about Canada; this kind of thing, however, isn't one of them. There are people who are so batshit crazy, and have done something so horrific, that for their own safety and that of others they need to be permanently removed from society--perhaps to a mental hospital rather than regular person, but still, permanently removed. I might--might--be willing to think about short, well-supervised trips outside a secure facility after the patient has been there for, oh, 10 or 15 years at least, and his attorney is not only willing to have this person around his family, but actually does so (talk's cheap, dude--put your money where your mouth is). But this soon, with these few conditions? Oh, HELL NO.
ReplyDelete^^^ regular *prison*, damn it.
ReplyDeleteI'll be shocked if someone doesn't Jack Ruby him during one of these little outings.... Look at me! Hero!....
ReplyDeletePS- WTFery is being added to my 'List of Most Excellent Terms I Got From CDAN'. Right after dicksplash.
Alright, cool, so he's doing well on his meds. Do you know the percentage of mentally ill people that decide to stop taking their meds because they haven't had symptoms in a while and think they're "cured?" It's just a matter of time for this guy. Being considered "insane during the crime" but not afterwards may work in cases of self-defense, but cannibalism? This is just ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIgnorance abound here... He was in a full psychotic episode. Worse, he knew he was completely derailing and tried to get help from hospitals for several days before he murdered that poor fellow. However, because he appeared lucid, he was deemed to not be at risk to himself or others and was rejected for further treatment.
ReplyDeleteWith medication, he is fine. He, and other schizophrenics need assistance from community social workers and nurses to ensure they are taking their meds when they are not hospitalized.
However, politicians who try to fight for these funds for the disadvantaged are usually not re-elected.
Our prisons are full of mentally ill people who would be better served, along with the society at large, with proper treatment and assisted living support. It would be a lot less expensive than prisons and the social cost would be reduced too. Minnesota gets it. They have an amazing social program in place that has saved tax payers and insurance companies billions of dollars through reduced property crime, reduced crime against people... property can be replaced. Lives cannot. Prevention is a better alternative than punishment after it happens. but again, god help the politician who fights to increase funding in these sectors instead of cutting funds.
I stopped reading after the first 2 sentences. Sick ass.
ReplyDeleteHere is a recent interview with Vince Li about the incident. Just follow this link.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.montrealgazette.com/health/beheader+hear+voices/6661242/story.html