Man who stabbed NSW paramedic found not criminally responsible

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The man who fatally stabbed a New South Wales paramedic in Sydney's southwest last year has been found not criminally responsible due to mental health impairment. The family of victim Steven Tougher is furious about the verdict.

Transcript

00:00Jordan Finnegan-Ganafo pleaded not guilty to six charges, including Stephen Toga's murder,

00:07over an unprovoked stabbing attack on the paramedic outside Campbelltown McDonald's

00:12in April last year.

00:13Now, up until recently, this case appeared to be headed for a jury trial, but earlier

00:17this week, the New South Wales Supreme Court heard of evidence from two psychiatrists which

00:22suggested that Finnegan-Ganafo has a mental health impairment in the form of schizophrenia,

00:27and that at the time, he was experiencing symptoms of psychosis, including auditory

00:32hallucinations and hearing the voices of demons.

00:35Now, according to experts engaged by both the Crown and Defence, that means that he

00:40was deprived of the ability to see that his act was wrong, and it makes available to him

00:45a special verdict of act proven but not criminally responsible.

00:48Today, Justice David Davies said there was nothing to cast doubt on the opinions of those

00:53two experts, and he entered that special verdict for all six charges.

00:58In court, there were members of the Toga family, and there was a sense of disbelief from the

01:02public gallery as many of those people shook their heads.

01:05One person yelled out, you chose not to take your medication, you're the demon.

01:10This means that Finnegan-Ganafo will now be periodically assessed by a mental health tribunal.

01:15Outside court, members of Stephen Toga's family said they were simply appalled by this outcome,

01:20and said that Mr Toga has been lost to a deeply flawed system.

01:24His family is now planning to meet with members of the New South Wales Government, including

01:29the State Minister for Mental Health and the Attorney-General, and his father, Geoff Toga,

01:34says that they are struggling to accept the outcome.

01:37What shocks us most is that more than 12 months after Stephen's death, his killer was assessed

01:44by two forensic psychiatrists.

01:48It was their opinion that ultimately led to the verdict that Stephen's killer should

01:52not be held criminally responsible for his death.

01:59These opinions were never tested in court, and the two psychiatrists responsible for

02:05this deeply offensive decision have not even set foot in the courtroom.

02:12Stephen's killer got away with murder.

02:16There were also members of the Finnegan-Ganafo family here today and supporters.

02:20Outside court, as they left, one of those group members simply said, we're sorry, and

02:24defence lawyer Javid Faiz said this was a tragic case, and the family wished to extend

02:29their deepest sympathies.

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