A mentally ill man who killed his sleeping father and seriously injured his mother by bludgeoning them with a wrench will spend at least one year in a psychiatric hospital.
The B.C. Review board made a disposition in the case of Jordan Ramsay on Aug. 15.
In July, a judge found Ramsay not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on one charge of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. In legal terms, that is not exoneration, but it does fall to the B.C. Review Board to make a disposition on Ramsay's fate.
He will be confined to Colony Farm forensic psychiatric hospital and required to meet with a psychiatrist to assist him with treatment and promote reintegration into society. He is also barred from possessing any firearms or weapons. His custody will be reviewed after one year.
That is a mistake according to LeeAnn Ramsay, sister of the deceased.
"My nephew is where he needs to be although I think reviewing him in only one year is terrible. He needs to be there a very long time, if not forever," she said in an email to the North Shore News. "He needs 24/7 supervision to ensure he takes his meds. Even after everything that has happened, he has no insight into his disease and still does not want to take medication."
In her reasons for decision, the judge put part of the blame on Ramsay and his family reducing the dosage of the medication prescribed by his psychiatrist and trying to substitute it with a vitamin regimen. The company that sells and markets the vitamins as an alternative to psych meds needs to be held accountable, LeeAnn said.
"The product they are selling to Canadians is mail-order and not licensed. Health Canada has had continuous dealings with them over the years. . . I believe the reason my brother is dead is because of the false hope that was given to his mother by this company," she said.
