news Winnipeg, Canada Trial starts for suspect in Greyhound bus killing/beheading

[GM599]

The trial for the man accused of beheading a passenger on a Greyhound bus is scheduled to begin today in Winnipeg.

Vince Li is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Tim McLean, 22, who was killed last July while travelling home to Manitoba from Alberta.

McLean was asleep near the back of the bus and wearing earphones when he was stabbed numerous times.

As passengers scrambled to get off the bus, McLean's attacker carved up his body and brandished his head to witnesses standing outside the bus.

Li's lawyers do not refute the fact that their client killed McLean. However, they will argue at the trial that Li was not criminally responsible for the killing because he suffered from mental health problems.

The defence is expected to argue that Li was in an automaton state, which was brought on by his mental problems, and should therefore be placed in an institution rather than put in prison.

If they are successful, the 40-year-old Li won't have a criminal record. He would undergo annual assessments by a mental health review board and could be released into the community if he is deemed to be healthy.

Under current laws, a person found not criminally responsible for a crime is not required to serve a minimum detention sentence.

McLean's mother, Carol DeDelley, has launched a campaign to change the law so that anyone found criminally responsible for a crime must serve time in jail.

She is asking politicians to pass "Tim's Law," which would call for anyone convicted of murder to be incarcerated for life, with no chance of parole.

"The punishments available do not suit what happened to my son," DeDelley told CTV's Canada AM on Monday. "Saying that he was stabbed and murdered on the bus is a very kind description of what actually took place."

The trial will be heard by a judge alone and is expected to take three days.