Re Jackson Brown, 2026 CanLII 10959

Ontario Review Board

Re: Jackson Brown

ORB File No: 8861

Hearing held on: Friday, November 20, 2025

Place of Hearing: Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre

Pursuant to: Section 672.47(1) of the Criminal Code

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. P. Hageraats

Members: Dr. S. Lessard Dr. R. Kunjukrishnan Mr. A. Bouvier Ms. J. Fuller

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Jackson Brown Counsel: Mr. A. Hamzeh

Person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. J. Hwang

Attorney-General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. M. Dufort

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated February 12, 2026)

Introduction

1. On September 8, 2025, Jackson Brown appeared in Court on charges of possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, utter a threat to cause death or bodily harm, assault, assault with a weapon, and mischief not exceeding five thousand dollars, offences contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.

2. The court received expert psychiatric evidence establishing that Mr. Brown was suffering from a severe mental disorder when he committed the offences. Based on that evidence, the Court ruled Mr. Brown was not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”).

3. Rather than render a disposition, the Court required Mr. Brown to appear before the Ontario Review Board (“ORB” or “the Board”) for the Board to render a disposition. On Friday, November 20, 2025, Mr. Brown appeared before a Board panel at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (“ROMHC” or “the hospital”). He was represented by counsel, Mr. Hamzeh. An Order appointing Mr. Hamzeh was made prior to the commencement of the hearing.

4. At the hearing, the Board received direct testimony from the newly involved forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Jiyoung Hwang. In addition, documents were filed in evidence, including the following:

5. OPP Criminal Information – May 9, 2025

6. Endorsement - Record of Criminal Court Appearances

7. Crown Brief Cover, General Report, Supplementary Occurrence Report and Witness Statements

8. Warrant Remanding a Prisoner – May 9, 2025

9. Non-Communication Order – May 9, 2025

10. Intake Court Endorsement

11. Assessment Order – Crim Resp – May 27, 2025

12. Assessment Order – Fitness to Stand Trial – May 9, 2025

13. NCR Report, dated June 25, 2025

14. Fitness Assessment – May 15, 2025

15. Pre-Hearing Conference Report – October 6, 2025

16. Pre-Hearing Conference Report – October 7, 2025

17. Hospital Report for the ORB – November 2, 2025

18. The issues to be considered by the Board are whether Mr. Brown presents a significant risk to the safety of the public, and, if so, to determine the necessary and appropriate disposition.

19. Mr. Brown is supported by his family, several of whom were present at the hearing.

Positions of the Parties

7. The Board was presented with a joint submission by all three parties, namely that Mr. Brown continues to present a significant threat and that, to manage the level of threat, a detention order on recommended terms and conditions is necessary and appropriate.

8. For the reasons set out below, the Board adopted the joint submission.

Current Psychiatric Diagnoses & Treatment

9. Mr. Brown is currently diagnosed with:

• Schizoaffective Disorder – bipolar type, multiple episodes, currently in full remission
• Cannabis Use Disorder – moderate, in a controlled environment
• Hallucinogen Use Disorder – moderate, in a controlled environment
• Social Anxiety Disorder
• Opioid Use Disorder – mild, in a controlled environment

10. Mr. Brown recently began treatment with oral psychiatric medication: Olanzapine twice per day, Gabapentin twice per day, Bupropion twice per day, Naltrexone once a day and Prazosin once a day.

Index Offences

11. The circumstances are described in the police and court documents and in the hospital report. In summary:

Assault/Assault with a Weapon – The complainant was mowing his front lawn when he saw one of his neighbours, Mr. Brown, go into his house, come back out and then wave at him. When the man turned around, Mr. Brown appeared with a knife in hand and stabbed the man in the chest unexpectedly. The man ran to the street seeking help and then hid in a nearby home while Mr. Brown looked for him. The wound appeared to be superficial, and the man did not seek medical attention.

Possession of a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose – Mr. Brown had a black knife in his hand, approximately 3 inches long and used it to stab a neighbour.

Uttering Threats to Cause Death or Bodily Harm – After stabbing the man, Mr. Brown started yelling, “I am Jesus, I am your saviour, I am here to kill you.” While the man ran away from Mr. Brown, he heard Mr. Brown yelling, “I’m going to kill you mother fucker.”

Mischief Under $5000 – Mr. Brown was observed punching a grey Honda Civic.

Personal Background

12. The Hospital Report provides a detailed history of Mr. Brown’s personal life and psychiatric history.

13. In summary, Mr. Brown is 25 years old, who was living with his mother at the time of the index offences. He is financially supported by Ontario Works and has a long-distance on-and-off girl friend of nine years. He does not have any known children or dependants. He is the middle of three children, with an older sister and a younger half-sister.

14. Mr. Brown’s mother described Mr. Brown as a quiet and happy baby. She indicated that he was as a shy child, who always struggled with anxiety. His parents separated when he was 6 years old and Mr. Brown resided with his mother and had parenting time with his father. When Mr. Brown was 9 years old, his parents, who were both military members, were posted to different locations. Mr. Brown’s contact with his father significantly decreased, was unpredictable and a source of anxiety; he feared abandonment.

15. Mr. Brown resumed having regular contact with his father in grade 9. At that time, unbeknownst to his mother, he started smoking cannabis with his father. His cannabis consumption progressed to daily use.

16. Mr. Brown found school challenging and suffered from anxiety and depression. In grade 11, Mr. Brown had a particularly difficult visit with his father. His mood and mental state deteriorated thereafter, and he began buying Xanax from peers and reporting that he wanted to die. He wondered if his father suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and believes that he has struggled with cocaine use over the years. Mr. Brown completed grade 12 and was accepted to Algonquin College, but did not attend.

17. Mr. Brown’s mother reported that in 2023 he was doing quite well working in a landscaping job. He was socializing more and his cannabis use had declined. However, after the end of the season, his cannabis use increased, due to the lack of activities. One of his friends passed away from an overdose and things began to worsen over time.

18. In 2024, Mr. Brown was residing in his mother’s home with his teenage half-sister. Things were not going well in the home and he was evicted from the home by his mother on multiple occasions. During the periods of eviction, he would reside in his car. He traveled to Newfoundland to stay with his grandparents, but that was not successful.

19. In 2024 he began using opioids, starting with Percocet tablets and then OxyContin tablets. He was using cannabis on a daily basis and started using LSD (acid), in addition to psychedelic mushrooms and MDMA.

Psychiatric History

20. The Hospital Report details Mr. Brown’s psychiatric history in pages 5-12. A brief chronology is provided below.

• 2017 – diagnosed with substance-induced anxiety and prescribed an antidepressant for mood and anxiety;
• 2018 – admitted to Kingston General Hospital through the Emergency Room, after his mom called the police. Mr. Brown, triggered by relationship issues, had used crystal meth and wanted to find Xanax. His mother stopped him and was admitted to the hospital due to suicidal ideations (wanting to shoot himself), which he expressed to the psychiatrist. After a few days in hospital, he said he was not truly suicidal but was irate at his mother. He had been using cocaine daily for a week prior to his admission. Mr. Brown was discharged with a referral to outpatient psychiatry for psychotherapy.
• 2024 – Mr. Brown was referred for an outpatient psychiatric consultation due to anger, self-harm or suicidal gestures. His mother questioned whether he might have borderline personality disorder. Mr. Brown indicated that he was “prescribed” five grams of cannabis per day by a physician for PTSD, but it seemed as though this was self-prescribed. He said his PTSD caused nightmares relating to an incident involving the police when he was high on Xanax and had been ‘manhandled’. He presented with low-grade paranoia and interpersonal sensitivity and difficulty managing his temper. Substance abuse was determined to be the main issue, which contributed to his mood and anxiety symptoms, along with his reported paranoia. He did not meet the criteria for PTSD or borderline personality disorder but had cluster B personality traits. He expressed an intention to continue using psychedelics. He was referred to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (“DBT”) to held with mood regulation, but no follow up at the clinic was offered. It was noted that any ongoing substance use would prevent him from achieving the true benefits of DBT.
• May 1, 2025 – One week before the index offence date, Mr. Brown was brought to the Montfort Hospital after his mother called police. They had had an argument, and he began throwing items at her. Mr. Brown agreed he needed help and attended the hospital. He was seen for an emergency psychiatric consultation. Mr. Brown indicated he had been experiencing increasing suspiciousness over the past 18 months while he had been living with his girlfriend and believed that the neighbours were tormenting him. This caused him to move home. While at home, he heard a noise and thought someone he owed money to might have followed him home. He retrieved a knife and then discovered that it was his sister in the house. He denied experiencing persecutory delusions or hallucinations but acknowledged tension with his family due to his perceived need for boundaries; his mother called it “paranoia”. Mr. Brown disclosed that his mood had been worsening since November 2024. His appetite had decreased, leading to weight loss, he was irritable, had low self-esteem, and poor sleep. He thought his 16-year-old sister was intentionally provoking him by doing things like stomping around the house. He had retaliated, which resulted in police being called.
• May 8-9, 2025 – Mr. Brown was brought to the hospital following the events that led to him being charged with the index offences. He was in an agitated state, repeatedly saying he was God and Jesus. Due to his high level of agitation, physical and chemical restraints were administered in the emergency department. He had told the police he wanted to sacrifice the neighbour he had tried to stab and wanted to kill the rest of the neighbours on the street. Mr. Brown told the officers that he was God, and he had killed the Devil. He also said that one of the officers was gay and he would kill them. He indicated that he had gone to his car to get a vape and he saw that his neighbour was Lucifer and needed to kill him to save the world. He said he had recently discovered that he was Jesus and was on a mission to save the world by spreading love and peace. His mother advised that he had been posting religious content on social media and had not slept for days. He told her he had been blowing cancer out of his nose and she was having difficulty following him in conversation. Mr. Brown was admitted to the hospital on a Form 1. The next day he was feeling much better. Mr. Brown said that he had seen the Devil in his neighbour, but it was believed that his mental status had improved. He was discharged into police custody. It was believed that he was presenting with a brief psychotic episode with elements of mania, complicated by substance use and cluster B personality traits.
• May 9 – June 11, 2025 – Mr. Brown was seen by mental health nurses and a forensic psychiatrist while he was in the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre (“OCDC"). He continued to exhibit grandiosity, stating that he was the Messiah, and had come to help people and win evil. He started oral antipsychotics. Several days later, nursing staff and the family doctor requested that Dr. Hwang, the forensic psychiatrist at OCDC, see him due to concerns of psychosis. During Dr. Hwang’s assessment, Mr. Brown expressed suicidal ideations, but said they had been resolved when he learned the Quran in jail. He stated, “since learning the Quran, my life is perfect,” but noted that he hadn’t read the Quran yet. He said he hadn’t slept for several days leading up to this arrest because he was writing prophecies, as he was “obsessive about being Jesus Christ.” Dr. Hwang opined that Mr. Brown was presenting with substance-induced psychosis. He was felt to be at high risk of developing chronic psychosis due to his history of substance-induced psychosis and ongoing substance use in the community. While at OCDC Mr. Brown advised the institutional physician that he required opioid replacement, Suboxone, due to his withdrawals. However, he confirmed to Dr. Hwang that he only had mild opioid withdrawal symptoms and just wanted Suboxone to “see what it was like” and help him “pass time” in jail. He was not in fact going through any withdrawals. By the time Dr. Hwang saw Mr. Brown on June 11th, there was an improvement in his reported psychotic symptoms, but the doctor thought he could be minimizing them due to the contrasting presentation in the nurse’s interviews and the doctor’s assessment.

Course Following the NCR Finding

21. Mr. Brown remained at OCDC until he was transferred to the Forensic Assessment Unit of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (ROMHC) on October 20, 2025. He had been seen by Dr. Hwang in OCDC and prescribed oral antipsychotics starting in May 2025. His symptoms gradually resolved by the end of July 2025; he stopped expressing delusions, experiencing hallucinations and demonstrating disorganized speech.

22. When he was transferred to the ROHMC, his low mood persisted and he indicated that it was because he was on a restricted unit. He attended addiction therapy groups and recreational groups, as well as the gym on the unit when encouraged by staff.

23. Mr. Brown indicated that, at the time of the index offence, he heard hallucinations that his neighbour was a demon and he had to defend himself. He said that due to his paranoia, he was yelling around the neighbourhood causing fear. He expressed remorse for both the victim and the larger community.

24. Mr. Brown advised that he had been using up to twenty pills of oxycodone per day, prior to the index offences and his subsequent incarceration. He wished to try Suboxone to address his withdrawal symptoms and was scheduled to start opioid agonist therapy.

25. Mr. Brown had good insight into his psychotic symptoms and the need for ongoing treatment. Dr. Hwang was concerned about his past cannabis and hallucinogen use, given his history of psychosis.

Evidence at the Hearing

26. Dr. Hwang was the only witness who testified at the hearing. A summary of her evidence is as follows:

• Mr. Brown remains on the FAU and is doing well. His medication has long-term side effects, such as weight gain and they’re slowly administering treatment in order to reduce the risk of relapse. So far, he is handling the titration well and has been engaging with the treatment team.
• He is attending group therapies, learning more about his substance use and coping with his emotions.
• After receipt of the disposition order, the plan is to transfer him to the Forensic Rehabilitation Unit where they will start administering privileges. This will allow Mr. Brown to start walking outside in the community in small increments and increase his privileges. He will be assigned a social worker and start looking for appropriate housing. We currently have a suitable location but need the disposition order to put him on the transfer list.

27. In response to questions about the accommodation plan from counsel for the Attorney General, Dr. Hwang elaborated:

• They are still waiting for the occupational therapy assessment, which will give them better insight into which housing is most appropriate. At this point, one of the forensic transitional homes is contemplated, while he gets connected with additional funding. At this point, he doesn’t have the funding for independent living accommodations. Lebreton and Grove currently have waitlists, with Grove being shorter. However, Grove is a more supported environment and may not be an appropriate fit, as Mr. Brown takes his medication and doesn’t have difficulty attending to his meals.
• Dr. Hwang confirmed that Mr. Brown’s mother could be an appropriate approved person for taking Mr. Brown out in the community.
• Dr. Hwang indicated that Mr. Brown needs a staffed home while he continues to address his substance abuse issues and maintain a daily oral medication regime. Mr. Brown understands that he cannot consume substances under an ORB disposition. However, he has not yet exhibited internal motivation to abstain from substances, including cannabis.
• She advised that not every individual needs to complete a full year at a transitional home, and individuals who are doing well, may transition to independent living once more funding is available. She is hopeful that a transition to independent living will be a motivator for Mr. Brown to continue with his group and individual therapy, as well as abstain from the use of substances.
• Dr. Hwang recommends that patients immerse themselves in the group therapies available to them in their respective accommodations and then slowly transition to out-patient services when they are moving to independent living.

Submissions of the Parties

28. As noted above, the Board received a joint submission, that Mr. Brown does present a significant threat to the safety of the public, requiring a formal detention order under the mandate of the ORB.

Conclusions and Disposition

29. Based on the undisputed evidence, and supported by the appropriate joint submission, the Board had no difficulty concluding that Mr. Jackson Brown currently presents a significant threat to public safety. This is based on the long-standing diagnosis of severe mental disorder. Mr. Brown’s schizoaffective disorder has not been adequately treated over the years. It has led to violent episodes, as most recently shown by the index offences.

30. Mr. Brown’s current psychiatric treatment is preceded by a pattern of drug consumption over the past several years, including daily cannabis use, and the use of acid, MDMA and opioids. Despite several prior psychiatric interventions linking his psychotic symptoms to his drug use, Mr. Brown did not express any desire or actually attempt to abstain from using drugs, which ultimately led to him stabbing a neighbour with a knife in an unprovoked interaction.

31. It took several months to stabilize and reduce Mr. Brown’s psychotic symptoms while he was being treated in OCDC and he is early in his treatment and therapeutic course.

32. Mr. Brown meets the threshold of significant risk. The Board accepts the Hospital Report’s risk of violence scenario where Mr. Brown develops another psychotic and mood episode while relapsing on substances, stopping his medications, or experiencing overwhelming stressors such as homelessness and isolation. In that situation, Mr. Brown’s psychotic symptoms would likely include persecutory and grandiose delusions and auditory hallucinations, where he would target others whom he believes are hurting him.

33. Given the combination of factors, a detention order is necessary at this early stage.

34. For these reasons, having regard to the primary consideration of public safety, and balancing the patient’s mental condition, his reintegration, and other needs, a detention order is provided. Terms and conditions are set out in the formal disposition.

35. We thank the parties and counsel for their assistance and wish Mr. Brown well.

DATED this 12th day of February 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.

Ms. Jessica Fuller

Legal Member

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Office of the Registrar

Ontario Review Board