Shooting suspect faces court-ordered mental exam
A Quebec Court judge has ordered that Richard Henry Bain be evaluated by a psychiatrist to determine whether he is fit to stand trial for murder.
Judge Robert Marchi issued the order, on a request from Bain’s lawyer, following a series of rambling statements made by the accused during a hearing at the Montreal courthouse Friday morning.
Defence lawyer Elfride Duclervil’s strategy clearly was to let Bain speak for a while before asking Marchi to issue the order that he be evaluated at the Pinel Institute. Bain, 62, faces 16 charges, including the murder of Denis Blanchette, 48, a sound technician who was shot Sept. 4 outside the nightclub where Pauline Marois was giving her victory speech after winning the provincial election.
“May God bless you all,” Bain blurted toward the people seated in the courtroom as he was led, by guards, into the prisoner’s dock with his hands in restraints.
Marchi asked Bain to sit down, but the accused refused and set off on a short speech where he made reference to Dec. 7 as “a very holy day of remembrance.” It soon became apparent Bain was making reference to Dec. 7, 1941, the day that the U.S. mil- itary was attacked at Pearl Harbor, setting off the United States’ decision to join in the Second World War.
Bain said it was “Christian armies” that fought against the countries that made up the Axis in that war. He eventually came to the conclusion that he was somehow doing the same.
As he continued to spew nonsense he said countries like Canada, Australia and the U.S. fought in the war to preserve their right to speak “in their mother tongue.”
At that point Duclervil tried to cut in.
“I need you to answer a question,” she told Bain. But he continued his rant.
“We Canadians shall never surrender to fight the evil separatists,” Bain said. “This national separatist problem, which has been going on for 45 years, will be a problem no more.”
Duclervil then asked: “Who is Richard Bain?”
“He has chosen me,” Bain replied before setting off another rant about being a “soldier for Christ.”
“Do you understand that you have been accused of murder?” Duclervil continued.
“Yes,” Bain replied before interrupting Duclervil’s next question. “Christian soldiers never commit murder.”
When Bain finished talking Marchi agreed to have him sent to Pinel. Duclervil asked that he be sent to the institution as soon as possible.
Outside the courtroom the defence lawyer said her attempts to talk to Bain before Friday’s hearing produced similar comments from Bain.
The case returns to court on Dec. 17.