I LIKE EGGS
09-30-2005, 02:39 PM
How could this be???
Decision in Carmichael case:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/09/27/1237914-cp.html
By TARA BRAUTIGAM
LONDON, Ont. (CP) - A father who believed he was saving his 11-year-old epileptic son from a life of hell was found not criminally responsible Friday of drugging and suffocating the child after a night of video games and television.
In her ruling, the judge decided David Carmichael was a loving and caring parent, but both badly deluded and desperate when he killed his boy. "We will probably never fully understand the desperation that led David Carmichael to take (the life of) his little boy," said Ontario Superior Court Justice Helen Rady.
"He was clearly a devoted and caring parent who looked for opportunities for his son to excel."
Rady ruled that Carmichael should be sent to a medium-security psychiatric facility in Brockville, Ont., for treatment as soon as practical as both Crown and defence recommended.
Within 90 days, the Ontario Review Board will decide on any further treatment and how long he should remain there.
"I am satisfied that Mr. Carmichael poses no real threat to the public," said Rady.
"Indeed, Mr. Carmichael likely poses more of a threat to himself than to the public."
Carmichael had been charged with first-degree murder but both Crown and defence told the judge he was not criminally responsible for his actions.
Defence lawyer Philip Campbell expressed relief at the verdict.
"It brings to the conclusion a painful and extremely difficult process," he said.
Forensic psychiatrists testified during the emotional three-day trial that the 47-year-old man was suffering from a severe bout of depression and psychosis when he killed the boy.
They said Carmichael was convinced that by killing the boy, who he believed was partially brain dead, he would spare him a life of intolerable suffering and save his family from a child he saw seething with aggression to the point where he might have killed his older sister.
After his arrest, Carmichael told police his son, whose body was found at a Holiday Inn on July 31, 2004, felt everyone was laughing at him and was in a "living hell."
"There can be no question that Mr. Carmichael's beliefs were illogical, indefensible, and contrary to reality," Rady told a packed courtroom.
"Mr. Carmichael is not criminally responsible for the murder of his son because he caused Ian's death at the time when he was suffering from a mental disorder that rendered him incapable of knowing that it was wrong," said Rady.
Dr. John Bradford, who examined Carmichael a month after the slaying, said the father is now conscious his actions were wrong, and he has begun grieving the loss of his son.
Over the course of the judge-only trial, Rady heard heart-wrenching testimony from a former colleague and Carmichael's twin brother Jeff, both of whom described in vivid detail the transformation of "a loving father" into a depressed, suicidal stranger.
Jeff Carmichael testified their family has a dark history of depression and suicide.
Decision in Carmichael case:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/09/27/1237914-cp.html
By TARA BRAUTIGAM
LONDON, Ont. (CP) - A father who believed he was saving his 11-year-old epileptic son from a life of hell was found not criminally responsible Friday of drugging and suffocating the child after a night of video games and television.
In her ruling, the judge decided David Carmichael was a loving and caring parent, but both badly deluded and desperate when he killed his boy. "We will probably never fully understand the desperation that led David Carmichael to take (the life of) his little boy," said Ontario Superior Court Justice Helen Rady.
"He was clearly a devoted and caring parent who looked for opportunities for his son to excel."
Rady ruled that Carmichael should be sent to a medium-security psychiatric facility in Brockville, Ont., for treatment as soon as practical as both Crown and defence recommended.
Within 90 days, the Ontario Review Board will decide on any further treatment and how long he should remain there.
"I am satisfied that Mr. Carmichael poses no real threat to the public," said Rady.
"Indeed, Mr. Carmichael likely poses more of a threat to himself than to the public."
Carmichael had been charged with first-degree murder but both Crown and defence told the judge he was not criminally responsible for his actions.
Defence lawyer Philip Campbell expressed relief at the verdict.
"It brings to the conclusion a painful and extremely difficult process," he said.
Forensic psychiatrists testified during the emotional three-day trial that the 47-year-old man was suffering from a severe bout of depression and psychosis when he killed the boy.
They said Carmichael was convinced that by killing the boy, who he believed was partially brain dead, he would spare him a life of intolerable suffering and save his family from a child he saw seething with aggression to the point where he might have killed his older sister.
After his arrest, Carmichael told police his son, whose body was found at a Holiday Inn on July 31, 2004, felt everyone was laughing at him and was in a "living hell."
"There can be no question that Mr. Carmichael's beliefs were illogical, indefensible, and contrary to reality," Rady told a packed courtroom.
"Mr. Carmichael is not criminally responsible for the murder of his son because he caused Ian's death at the time when he was suffering from a mental disorder that rendered him incapable of knowing that it was wrong," said Rady.
Dr. John Bradford, who examined Carmichael a month after the slaying, said the father is now conscious his actions were wrong, and he has begun grieving the loss of his son.
Over the course of the judge-only trial, Rady heard heart-wrenching testimony from a former colleague and Carmichael's twin brother Jeff, both of whom described in vivid detail the transformation of "a loving father" into a depressed, suicidal stranger.
Jeff Carmichael testified their family has a dark history of depression and suicide.