T. Newman

The Ontario Review Board conducted a mandatory annual review for an accused found not criminally responsible for violent offences due to treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

Despite a joint submission from the hospital, Crown, and accused supporting a transfer to a less secure facility, the Board found the transfer premature.

The Board noted the accused's fragile clinical stability, recent episodes of aggression, and history of rapid decompensation when medication monitoring was reduced.

The Board ordered continued detention at the high-secure facility with a weapons prohibition.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for mischief.

The accused suffers from schizophrenia and severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The attending psychiatrist testified that the accused requires a high level of support in a secure forensic setting and would likely disengage from treatment and violently reoffend if discharged.

The Board found that the accused continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and ordered the continuation of his detention at the high-secure forensic hospital.

The accused was found not criminally responsible for dangerous driving and fleeing police.

At the initial Ontario Review Board hearing, the Board considered whether the accused remained a significant threat to public safety.

The Board found that the accused's history of non-compliance with treatment, ongoing psychotic symptoms, and substance use elevated his risk profile.

The Board concluded that a Detention Order with community living was the least onerous and least restrictive disposition necessary to manage the risk and protect the public, rejecting a request for a Conditional Discharge.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory annual review of the accused's disposition under s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code.

The accused, previously found not criminally responsible for assault, is currently detained at a high secure provincial forensic program.

The Board found that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety due to active psychotic symptoms, treatment resistance, and a history of violence.

The Board concluded that an absolute or conditional discharge, or transfer to a less secure setting, was inappropriate, and ordered that the current detention disposition remain in place.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for manslaughter and assault causing bodily harm.

The accused, diagnosed with schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder, had remained psychiatrically stable and compliant with treatment over the past year.

The Board found that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety, particularly due to the risk of relapse associated with substance use.

However, given his stability and moderate risk level, the Board concluded that a transfer to a less secure forensic program at CAMH is the necessary and appropriate disposition.

The accused was previously found unfit to stand trial on a charge of aggravated assault.

At his initial Ontario Review Board hearing, the hospital and the Crown submitted that the accused was now fit to stand trial and sought a keep fit order detaining him in hospital pending his return to court.

The accused agreed he was fit but opposed the keep fit order.

The Board found the accused fit to stand trial, noting his ability to answer the Taylor test questions and understand the proceedings.

Given his history of fluctuating fitness and the stabilizing effect of the hospital environment, the Board ordered that he be sent back to court without delay and remain subject to the Warrant of Committal in hospital to maintain his fitness.

The Ontario Review Board conducted a mandatory annual review of the disposition for the accused, who was previously found not criminally responsible for assault with a weapon and forcible confinement.

The accused, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, had recently exhibited aggressive behaviour, persistent persecutory delusions, and medication non-compliance.

The Board accepted the psychiatric evidence that the accused's stability remains fragile and heavily reliant on close supervision.

The Board concluded that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety and ordered that his detention at the high secure provincial forensic program remain in place without transfer to a less secure facility.