Proving mental illness difficult: law prof

Posted: 6:15 PM CDT Wednesday, May. 8, 2024

A law professor says lawyers for a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.

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A law professor says lawyers for a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.

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This article was published 08/05/2024 (541 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A law professor says lawyers for a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.

Jeremy Skibicki, 37, faces four counts of first-degree murder. His trial began Wednesday.

His lawyers told court this week they will argue that he committed the killings but is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.

Jeremy Skibicki's lawyers said they will argue that he committed the killings, but is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. (James Culleton sketch / The Canadian Press)

Brandon Trask, an assistant professor of law at the University of Manitoba, said proving Skibicki had a mental disorder at the time of the killings is only the first step for the defence.

Once a mental illness has been established, Trask said, it comes down to whether the diagnosis made Skibicki incapable of knowing that the slayings were wrong.

“This is not the sort of a case where there’s a single victim, a single moment in time. This is a situation involving four victims across … a lengthier period in time,” Trask, who has no involvement with the case, said in an interview.

“This is going to be very challenging for the defence, very complex and very technical.”

Both sides have told court they plan to call expert witnesses to testify on Skibicki’s mental state.

Trask said there is not the same need to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt as there is with a criminal conviction. The measure used for a finding of not criminally responsible is 50 per cent plus one that the accused most likely did not understand what he was doing was wrong.

Trask said it will be up to prosecutors to poke holes in the defence arguments.

“I would predict this is going to take a number of twist and turns over the coming weeks,” Trask said.

— The Canadian Press