Jury hears closing arguments in murder trial of Quebec City sword attacker

Crown prosecutor François Godin and defence attorney Pierre Gagnon made passionate pleas on Wednesday as to why Carl Girouard, the man charged in the Quebec City sword attacks of Halloween 2020, should — or should not be — held criminally responsible for his actions.

The jury members listened attentively and took notes as the lawyers presented their closing arguments in the murder trial of Girouard.

The 26-year-old defendant is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder after he killed two people and attacked five more with a sword on Oct. 31, 2020.

While Girouard has admitted to carrying out the attacks, his defence team argues that he can't be held criminally responsible because he was delusional at the time.

The Crown staunchly rejected that premise, referring to evidence that suggested that Girouard's actions were premeditated and deliberate.

The prosecutor told the jury having a mental illness doesn't give someone a free pass — the defence has to prove that the person couldn't understand what they were doing was wrong.

"We think [the defence] didn't do that," he said. "We are looking for the truth."

Godin asked the jurors if they really believed that Girouard, who had been obsessed with his mission to kill people for six years, could forget about it immediately after the attacks and do so without any medication if he had truly been delusional.

The prosecutor said the defence's theory relied on a "miraculous healing," reminding the jury that schizophrenia is a disease that can be treated, but not cured.

He also pointed out instances when Girouard doubted his actions. He said if the defendant had really been delusional, he wouldn't have had any hesitations.

Godin implied that forensic psychiatrist Dr. Gilles Chamberland, who testified on behalf of the defence, had omitted important details when he evaluated the defendant.

He pointed out for example that Chamberland didn't look at the notes from detention employees who observed Girouard after his arrest and failed to notice how many times Girouard met with the social worker whom he had shared his mission.

"I invite you to determine who has or doesn't have a bias," he said. "Ask yourselves – which psychiatrist explains well the idea that the mission disappeared in a snap of a finger?"

Godin also expressed doubts about the credibility of the defendant's testimony. If Girouard's mission was top secret, why did he write a paper about it in school, he asked.