Experts say questions remain unanswered
Duelling diagnoses, other issues raised
For the Quebec woman who heads up a provincial resource network for battered women, the decision by the Quebec Mental Health Assessment Commission Wednesday to release Montreal cardiologist Guy Turcotte from Pinel Institute was “questionable.”
Manon Monastesse, head of the Fédération de ressources d’hébergement pour femmes violentées et en difficulté du Québec, said the question of domestic violence was never raised at Turcotte’s trial. Turcotte faced first-degree murder charges in connection with the stabbing deaths of his two young children, Anne-Sophie, 3, and Olivier, 5, in 2009.
In 2011, he was found not criminally responsible for their deaths.
Monastesse thinks the issue of domestic violence should have been raised during the trial. She also believes that the question of what role it played in the Turcotte family dynamic is relevant to Turcotte’s imminent release.
“His former wife said after the trial that she was afraid of him,” Monastesse said. “One could suspect that when a parent decides to kill his children it is an effort to exert the ultimate control. It’s a way of saying that if the children aren’t going to be with me, they won’t be with anyone.”
Monastesse said it also worried her that diametric- ally opposed diagnoses were presented at Turcotte’s trial, one holding that Turcotte did not know what he was doing when he stabbed his children a total of 46 times and another arguing that he was perfectly well aware of what he was doing.
“We don’t know which of these two diagnoses was right,” she said. “And there are other factors. Until very recently at Pinel, he was resistant to treatment and the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales wants a new trial. I find all this very worrisome.”
Montreal forensic psychologist Hubert van Gijesghem is also concerned, in his case by the apparent absence of an in-depth report on Turcotte’s mental state. “Is there such a report? We’ve never been told,” van Gijesghem said. “I would feel more reassured (about Turcotte’s release) if we knew exactly what his diagnosis was. At the trial, experts only discussed his passing state of mind. We didn’t hear about his personality structure. If he has a personality disorder, psychotherapy won’t be very effective.”
Van Gijesghem said it is possible a more in-depth examination of Turcotte has taken place since the trial, but if it has, the public has not been told. “We were handed a verdict that no one could do anything about and now we’re told he’s fine to be released into the community but we haven’t been told on what this decision is based. I think we should be informed.”
Franca Cortoni, a clinical forensic psychologist and professor of clinical criminology at the Université de Montréal, on the other hand, said the review board seemed to have taken the next logical step with Turcotte by announcing his release.
“Speaking generally, and I’m not talking about the specific case of Turcotte,” Cortoni said, “a review process looks at the risk of recidivism. You are trying to determine what is the likelihood that a crime will be repeated. You would look at all the elements that contributed to the crime — criminal history, which plays a huge role, attitude toward society, mental illness, which is not necessarily a deterrent to release.”
Cortoni said that with a mental health issue, a review board would look to see if it has been resolved or is being well managed. Most cases follow a set process, said Cortoni. “Canada is considered a leader in research into recidivism,” she said. “We have the research that shows that the odds of reoffending are extremely low. And once any specific issues have been addressed, a supervised release does become the next logical step in allowing the person to return to the community.”