By Canadian Press

Bain told doctor in 2012 he could be judged ‘crazy,’ sent to mental institution

Aug 1, 2016 | 11:00 AM

MONTREAL — Accused election night shooter Richard Henry Bain told a forensic psychiatrist in 2012 he could be judged “crazy” and sent to a mental institution, his first-degree murder trial heard Monday.

Bain made the comments in written responses to questions posed by forensic psychiatrist Marie-Frederique Allard during an interview on Nov. 9, 2012, a little more than two months after he allegedly started shooting outside the Parti Quebecois election headquarters, killing a lighting technician.

Crown prosecutor Dennis Galiatsatos asked Allard, a defence expert witness, why Bain’s response wasn’t in her psychiatric assessment.

Allard said she wasn’t trying to hide his answer and was “certain the (response) would end up in front of the court as evidence.”

Galiatsatos continued his cross-examination, asking whether an accused admitting he could be judged “crazy” is an important factor in determining whether or not they understood the nature and quality of their actions.

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Prosperity through partnership and conversation

6h ago

Question of the Week

With King Charles III visiting Canada this week, do you feel the monarchy is relevant to Canadians?

May 26, 2025

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Exploring the Outdoors

May 26, 2025

Allard agreed.

“And you wrote it nowhere in your report?”

“You have a point,” she said.  

Bain, 65, has pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and two arson-related charges in connection with the shooting outside the Metropolis nightclub in Montreal where PQ supporters were gathered.

The accused’s lawyers are arguing Bain is not criminally responsible for the crimes because of a mental disorder while the Crown contends Bain acted out of anger.

Bain’s written responses to Allard’s questions in 2012 were entered into evidence by the Crown on Monday.

The accused wrote that “the plan was to kill as many separatists as I could. The head, the new MPs (members of the legislature), their leaders, their backbone.”

“I could be judged CRAZY AND GO TO PINEAL,” Bain wrote, improperly spelling the Montreal mental institution.

Allard suggested in her initial testimony that Bain was in a psychotic state when writing those responses in 2012.

She said she confronted Bain with them during a 2016 interview and Bain allegedly told her he was “very, very surprised” and couldn’t remember writing anything.

Allard has said that an underlying and undiagnosed bipolar disorder mixed with a cocktail of anti-depressants triggered a psychosis.

The accused said he was chosen to carry out a mission from God, which included bringing peace to Quebec by having Montreal separate from the province and remain part of Canada.

Galiatsatos says Bain’s anger — partly due to the result of the 2012 election that brought a separatist party to power — incited him to commit murder.

Key to being considered not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder is not knowing that the crime was wrong, or being “incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission,” according to the Criminal Code.

The Crown attorney also asked Allard about Bain’s earlier admissions of regret to a nurse, shortly after he was arrested in 2012.

Bain had allegedly told a nurse he had a “confession, that he knew what he did was wrong and that he was a born-again Christian,” Galiatsatos told Allard. “Isn’t that an awareness of wrongfulness?”

Allard replied that someone in a psychotic state can know that killing is wrong but cannot apply that reasoning.

She said he believed his mission from God, “his delusion was stronger than his values.”

– Follow @gvaliante on Twitter.

Giuseppe Valiante, The Canadian Press