Valery Fabrikant - Trial and Psychiatric Assessment

Trial and Psychiatric Assessment

Fabrikant represented himself at his five-month-long trial, after firing ten lawyers in the process. His claim was that the murders were done in "self-defence" because members of the faculty were "trying to give a heart attack". During the trial he also compared himself to the abused orphans in the Mount Cashel Orphanage.

After several weeks of observing his eccentric behaviour, the judge suspended the proceedings to conduct a hearing into Fabrikant's mental fitness to stand trial. After a month's review, the two court-appointed psychiatrists found him fit to stand trial, although "severely paranoid and hostile." The judge ended Fabrikant's performances in the courtroom and sent the case to the jury. With the essential facts not in doubt, they found Fabrikant guilty of first-degree murder and the court sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Despite two psychiatrists ruling in his favor, Fabrikant thought he was insulted by them. According to Dr. Louis Morisette, Fabrikant asked to meet with him. Morisette worked at Philippe-Pinel Institute (prison for the mentally disturbed) and specialized in legal psychiatry. Fabrikant spent several days there during the time of his trial. Morisette spent several hours over a few days with Fabrikant. "Fabrikant wanted my help to counter argue the two psychiatrists' opinion on him in court, and to help him argue that psychology has no scientific basis and proves nothing."

Morisette disagreed with the conclusions of the two psychiatrists appointed by the court. "Mr. Fabrikant suffers, in my opinion, from more than a simple personality disorder, he could be treated by pharmaceutical products, a treatment he always refused." "We often push the trial dates of people who suffer from complications because of heart attacks. In my opinion Fabrikant is not fit to stand trial."