March 03, 2021 Tatjana Muskiet
A Canadian man who killed 10 people by ploughing a van into pedestrians in Toronto has been found guilty on all 26 charges related to the 2018 attack. Alek Minassian had admitted the attack, but his lawyers argued he was not criminally responsible due to his autism spectrum disorder. Justice Anne Malloy has dismissed this claim, saying the attack was the “act of a reasoning mind”. Minassian faced 10 charges of murder and 16 charges of attempted murder. Throughout the ruling, Justice Malloy refused to name the attacker, 28, referring to him instead as John Doe, and said she would not give him the notoriety “he sought from the start”. Ms Malloy accepted his diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but ruled that he was capable of understanding his actions on April 2018 were both legally and morally wrong. At trial, defence lawyer Boris Bytensky said ASD had left his client without the abil
Almost three years after the April 23, 2018 van attack in Toronto, a verdict has been reached in the trial against the attacker, Alek Minassian. On March 3, 2021, Justice Anne Molloy from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice delivered a verdict finding Minassian guilty on all 26 counts, specifically 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.
In the case of
Her Majesty the Queen vs. Alek Minassian, the verdict by Justice Malloy was a live-streamed oral statement delivered with a 69-page document divided into 257 sections that outlined the reasoning behind the guilty verdict.
The verdict effectively rejected the argument that Minassian was not criminally responsible for his actions due to autism spectrum disorder. However, advocates for people with autism have said they’re concerned the trial may contribute to the stigmatization of people with disabilities.
BBC News
Published
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A Canadian man who killed 10 people by ploughing a van into pedestrians in Toronto has been found guilty on all 26 charges related to the 2018 attack.
Alek Minassian had admitted the attack, but his lawyers argued he was not criminally responsible due to his autism spectrum disorder.
Justice Anne Malloy has dismissed this claim, saying the attack was the act of a reasoning mind .
Minassian faced 10 charges of murder and 16 charges of attempted murder.
Throughout the ruling, Justice Malloy refused to name the attacker, 28, referring to him instead as John Doe, and said she would not give him the notoriety he sought from the start .
Toronto van attack: Minassian guilty of killing 10 people bbc.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bbc.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Liam Casey
Joe Callaghan Crown, top left, Justice Anne Molloy, accused Alek Minassian and Boris Bytensky are shown during a murder trial conducted via Zoom videoconference in this courtroom sketch on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alexandra Newbould December 18, 2020 - 2:32 PM
TORONTO - The man who killed 10 people by deliberately driving down pedestrians on a Toronto sidewalk is a mass murderer who happened to have autism spectrum disorder, the prosecution said Friday.
Crown attorney Joe Callaghan said in closing arguments that Alek Minassian s autism spectrum disorder â or ASD â didn t push the man to carry out the attack on April 23, 2018.
Rather, Callaghan argues, Minassian knew what he was doing was wrong.