PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Balachandra, K
AU  - Swaminath, S
AU  - Litman, LC
TI  - Impact of Winko on absolute discharges
DP  - 2004 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 173--177
VI  - 32
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/32/2/173.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/32/2/173.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2004 Jun 01; 32
AB  - In Canada, case laws have had a significant impact on the way mentally ill offenders are managed, both in the criminal justice system and in the forensic mental health system. The Supreme Court of Canada's decision with respect to Winko has set a major precedent in the application of the test of significant risk to the safety of the public in making dispositions by the Ontario Review Board and granting absolute discharges to the mentally ill offenders in the forensic health system. Our study examines the impact of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision before and after Winko. The results show that the numbers of absolute discharges have increased post-Winko, which was statistically significant, but there could be other factors influencing this increase.