The big questions in the Quebec election-night murder trial

DidRichard Baindrive to a Quebec election-nightvictory partywith a plan to gun down as many separatists as he couldor was he in a psychotic state,under the delusion that God had sent him there ona mission?

If the jurors determine that Bain is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder, then that will apply to all four charges and their job will be done.

• Battle of the experts:Why a not criminally responsible verdict is unlikely
• TIMELINE: What happened on Sept. 4, 2012

Otherwise, the panel of sevenwomen and five menwill haveto come to a unanimous decision in order to deliver a verdicton the charges Bain is facing: one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder.

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As the jurorswrestle with theirdecision, here are some of the big questions they will be weighing.

1. Is Bain's'incriminating' note the truth?

What the jury doesn't know is that the defencetried to find a way to stop the Crown from usingRichard Bain's handwrittennotes as evidence.

"The statements he made ....are very incriminating. Very incriminating,"defence lawyer AlanGuttmansaid in court when the jury wasn't present.

• Read RichardBain'shandwritten account of what happened Sept. 4, 2012
• Accused RichardBainsays he has no memory of election-night shooting

Bainclaimshe has no memory of thenightof the shooting, but two months later he wrote a full account of the events of that nightduring a question and answer session with a psychiatrist.

In the seven-page note he writes:"The plan was to kill as many separatists as I could, the head, the new MPs, their leader, their backbone."

"If inside, if MadameMaroiscould be seen, I would have killed her."

• DOC CLOUD:ReadBain'shandwritten note

Guttmanfailed to convince the judgethat thenote should only beadmissible fordemonstrating Bain's mental stateand not as evidence for the Crown.

In closing arguments to the jury, the prosecution arguedthe letter proves Bain's intent to kill,whilethe defence suggestedthe letter was afabricated memoryand the delusions of a psychoticman.

2. Was Bainpsychotic or was he fakingit?

'The English are waking up,' suspect shouts

8 years ago

Duration 7:37

Footage shows a man being led away by police after the Sept. 4, 2012 shooting outside Montreal's Metropolis nightclub.

Two psychiatrists one called to testify by the Crown and one for the defence weighed in on Bain's mental state the night of the attack at the Metropolis.

Both psychiatrists agree that Bainwas angry with separatists, but the key questionis what motivated that anger: Was it psychosisor his frustration with the separatists and the Parti Qubcois?

• Was Richard Bain delusional? Psychiatrists disagree on cause of accused's anger

The defence psychiatrist believes Bain was a "ticking time bomb" leading up to the night of the shooting, and that he believed he was carrying out God's will so could not apply his understanding of right and wrong.

But a psychiatrist called by the Crown cautioned against leaping to conclusions, and suggestedBaincould be faking his amnesia and other symptoms to escape responsibility.

3. Was Bain intoxicated?

Bainhas repeatedly insinuatedthat his actions should be blamed on pills he took before the shooting, which he said made it hard to tell right from wrong.

Whether or not Bain was intoxicated is irrelevant to his defence's main argument theirtheory is that he was psychoticbecause of hisbipolar disorder, not because of the pills.

But Guttman still tried toshakethe credibility of a toxicology screen, whichfound no evidence of the anti-depressantCymbalta in Bain's blood. He pointed out that the equipment was not sensitive enough to be absolutely certain.

The Crown, on the other hand, usedthe lack of Cymbalta in Bain'sbloodto suggest that Bainwas lyingyet again.

4. Was it an accident?

Baintold a police officer moments after the shooting "I just meant to shoot over their heads."

But twomonths later, in a note to apsychiatrist,Bainwrote"I was aiming to kill, I was not aiming to shoot over their heads."

Will the jury agree it was an accident, and find Bain guilty of manslaughter? Or will they believe what Bain wrote two months later, which suggests the shooting was premeditated?

The Crown asked the jury to consider the following:Does itmake sense to think thatBain, an experienced hunter, would havemissed by such a wide margin, shootingDenisBlanchette, standing only a few feet away, straightin the chest instead?

The defence countered why would Bain co-operate with police, and later say "Grace of God, the gun jammed" if he'd truly been shooting to kill?

5. DoesBainhate French separatists?

WARNING: Explicit language

If Quebecers remember anything from the 2012 election-night shooting, it'sBain's infamous cry: "The English are waking up!" which he yelled in Frenchwhile being led awayin handcuffs.

But Bain'solder brothers David and Robert both testified he'd never before expressed anger towards French-speaking Quebecers. In fact,they saidhis ex-girlfriend, who he'd spent20 years with, and most of his friends and colleagues, were francophone.

On the other hand, the jury also heardtestimony from a man who said BaincalledPQ-leaderPaulineMarois"f--king shit" four days before the shooting.

Plus, a psychiatrist testifying for the Crown told the court thatBaincomplained about a "separatist" bureaucrat who refused to grant him an ice-fishing permit, and said"I can size up people, the one who are miserable are the separatists."