The Trial of Alek Minassian: What is an NCR Defense?

Alek Minassian has pled Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) to the Toronto Van Attack. I explain what an NCR defense is and how the process works. I also explain what Minassian's NCR defense is based on, and how it differs from conventional NCR defenses.

Lastly, I examine some of the claims made by one of the defense experts (Dr. Alexander Westphal), and some of the reactions from autism advocacy groups.

This is the first in a series of videos I'm making about the trial of Alek Minassian.

It took more than an hour for the prosecutor to read through the gruesome details of the route the 25-year-old took on April 23, 2018, as he drove a rental van down the sidewalk of Toronto’s busy Yonge Street, killing eight women and two men and seriously injuring 16 others, in the city’s worst mass killing.

None of those details are disputed. Mr. Minassian admits that he killed those people, and that he planned what is now known as “the Toronto van attack.”

The remainder of the trial – which is being held virtually as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic – will focus on Mr. Minassian’s state of mind at the time.

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Links and Resources:

Twitter accounts for court reporters covering the Minassian case: @KaylaGoodfield, @alysanmati, @davewoodardnews, @CodiWilson, @LisaHepfnerCHCH

Westphal's Paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299851385_Autism_Spectrum_Disorder_and_Criminal_Justice

Autism Canada's statement about Minassian: https://autismcanada.org/autism-canada-alek-minassian-press-release/

Autism Ontario's statement about Minassian: https://www.autismontario.com/news/statement-autism-ontario-cultivated-misogyny-and-sense-entitlement-responsible-not-autism

Free resource for Canadian legal research: https://www.canlii.org/en/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNzcL6ieGlk