Homeless killer John Paul Ostamas' schizophrenia revealed minutes before sentencing

Prosecutors had no idea convicted killer John Paul Ostamas had a long-standing diagnosis of schizophrenia until minutes before he was sentenced for the murders of three homeless men in a Winnipeg courtroom on Monday.

"It surprised me in the sense that I was shown it just before the judge walked into the courtroom," said Sheilla Leinburd, who prosecuted the case. "Normally, that's something that's raised prior to the 11th hour."

Ostamas was handed what is tied for the longest sentence in Canadian history Thursday morning after pleading guilty to killing three homeless men in April 2015.

Based on a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence lawyer Greg Brodsky, Ostamas was sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole for 75 years.

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Minutes before Justice Vic Toews entered the courtroom, the defence lawyershowed Leinburd a psychiatric evaluation from 2002 that showed Ostamas was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

During sentencing, the defence lawyer,Brodsky, read a letter from Ostamas's sister, Kate, that detailed years of mental health problems, stays in psychiatric units and paranoid delusions.

She detailed times when Ostamas would lock himself in his room for long periods, not eat and neglect his personal hygiene to the point where he lost all of his teeth.

"He would stay in his room for days, and in his room, it was dark and the windows were covered up.He was so thin I was scared for his life," she said.

In one instance, Ostamas showed up at her home with a knife, terrified for his life.

"He came to me and said he was afraid there were people after him. He wanted me to help him.I looked out of my door and checked my windows. I didn't see anyone. No one was in sight ... All I could do was pray for him," she wrote.

Brodsky read from portions of the 2002 evaluation as well as explained Ostamas had been in and out of psychiatric institutions for most of his life and had a history of going on and off of his medication, as well as difficult accessing that medication at some points.

His sister wrote that when Ostamas was on his medication, he "is soft spoken, kind-hearted and shows compassion, but there's also another side of John when he's plagued with his illness.He's aggressive and shows no remorse."

It remains unclear if a more up-to-date psychiatric evaluation was ever ordered in the course of the trial.

"We did not order one, and if defence is using that as a mitigating factor, which he was in fact doing, it falls to him to ask for that assessment and to make sure that it's done," said Leinburd.

Leinburd said it's not clear if Ostamas is even still living with schizophrenia, as the assessment is 14 years old.

"Normally defence counsel would offer it sometime prior to the sentencing itself, and it's normally something counsel just does," said Leinburd, adding the Crown was never made aware of a more recent psychiatric evaluation, if one was ever done.

Calls to Brodsky for comment have not been returned.

Lawyer did not pursue NCR defence

Leinburd said she couldn't comment on whether or not a not criminally responsible defence was ever discussed with Brodsky, Ostamas' lawyer.

An NCR designation meansa person accused of a crime can be found not criminally responsible if they are found to be suffering from a severe mental illness and if while they were committing the crime, they couldn't understand that what they were doing was wrong.

• Greg Brodsky explains reason for John Paul Ostamas guilty plea in May 2016

An accused person can decide if an NCRdefence is used,and they must have the mental capacity to make that decision, something lawyers are responsible for determining throughout a trial.

"It's like they have no conscience, and they can't appreciate the nature of the crime in terms of realizing that it's wrong, especially when the person is driven by hallucinations, hearing voices that aren't really there," said Chris Summerville the CEO of theSchizophrenia Society of Canada.

Summerville has worked extensively with Vince Li, who was found not criminally responsible after beheading Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba in 2008.

Li was having hallucinations at the timeand believed he was chosen by God to defend against an impending alien attack.

Now, Li is living in a "safe house" in Winnipeg, and Summerville said he's doing very well.

Still, he said, having a severe and enduring mental illness does not mean a person is automaticallyeligible for an NCR defence because they may have an understanding of what they're doing at the time they committed the crime.

What's more important, Summerville said, is that mentally ill offenders get access to the treatment they need.

"They are suffering the consequences, but they're also suffering from an illness and that should be treated as best as possible, even in the penal system," said Summerville. "We know that doesn't happen. Prison is the worst place to get mental health services."

Sister of killer pleads for his medical help

Richard Schneider is the foremost expert on mental illness and the justice system who said Thursday the number of mentally ill people in Canada's jails is "embarrassinglyhigh."

The Toronto-based judge with the Ontario Court of Justiceis a former clinical psychologist and iscurrently chairing the Ontario Review Board. He also presided over a mental health court for 12 years.

"We know after decades of research that locking people up who suffer from mental illness makes matters worse, not better," said Schneider."Prison exacerbatessymptomology, it makes matters worse ...They need to be treated by mental health professionals."

Ostamas' sister, Kate, pleaded for help for her brother in her letter to the court.

"John deserves to be helped if it has to be medically for the rest of his life," she wrote. "He was born in this world like anyone else and deserves the fullness of his life even if it means being taken care of. He still is our brother, and I pray for him."