(Quebec) The antisocial ideas of the Old Quebec saber killer may be singular and twisted, but they do not mean that he was struggling with psychosis at the time of his carnage, according to a prosecution expert, who notes that not all Nazis were delusional.
Posted at 1:16 p.m.
This is what psychiatrist Sylvain Faucher argued on Friday during a close cross-examination of the defense. Carl Girouard’s lawyer tried to get him to say, without success, that his client’s radical ideas testify to delirium.
“Killing people to change society and bring us back to medieval times, does that make sense? Do you know of any? asked lawyer Pierre Gagnon to Dr Mow.
“Daesh,” the psychiatrist replied tit for tat, referring to Islamic State fighters. “Wasn’t it their intention to take us back to a time when women had no rights, and you had to do acts of violence to get there? »
Carl Girouard’s lawyer then objected that with such reasoning, “we always end up finding a small group at the bottom of planet Earth which agrees with what is irreconcilable with reason”.
“I don’t know the number of fighters Daesh had, but I don’t think it was a small group from the depths of the universe,” retorted the Dr Faucher, who added that not all Daesh fighters were delirious.
Mand Gagnon returned to the charge by referring to comments by his client that the sick and the weak did not deserve to live. “That, in society, is that generally accepted? asked the lawyer.
“The Nazis adhered to the principle of eugenics. It has already been shared by non-delusional people, ”replied the psychiatrist.
These exchanges occur in the context where the defense maintains that Carl Girouard is not responsible for his actions, because he was in psychosis on October 31, 2020, when attacking seven passers-by with a saber.
The defense believes that Girouard’s project is so devious that it can only be explained by mental illness.
“If that’s not delirium, I don’t know what is!” He ran after unarmed people with a saber, thinking he was brave. And he was convinced that people would recognize his courage, ”explained to the jury the psychiatrist Gilles Chamberland, defense expert.
The Dr Faucher believes that Carl Girouard was “most likely” not in psychosis. The 26-year-old had instead developed resentments towards society because he was rejected, according to his thesis. He conceived a fantasy to give himself importance and which he nurtured until he acted out. He would therefore be criminally responsible.
The cross-examination of psychiatrist Sylvain Faucher will continue Monday, at the Quebec courthouse. The lawyers’ closing arguments are due to take place on Wednesday.