Killer OK'd to live in community; Lee Hemphill, found not criminally responsible for the death of Renee Joynson, can live in Toronto residence approved by mental-health centre staffPosted By KARENA WALTER, St. Catharines StandardSt. Catharines, Ontario -- A St. Catharines man serving time in a mental institution for gunning down a woman in her north-end home has been given the green light to live in a Toronto community facility - again. Lee Hemphill, 37, will be able to live in an accommodation approved by officials from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health when his doctors feel he's ready. Hemphill was given the same privilege in a 2006 Ontario Review Board decision, but it was pulled in 2007 because of "negative incidents," including fantasizing about taking a police officer's gun away and shooting himself. The latest disposition order made by the board, which reviews cases of people found not criminally responsible for their actions, was issued Feb. 28 and made public this month. The order also allows the hospital to grant Hemphill passes to leave for anywhere in southern Ontario if accompanied by a staff member or person approved by the hospital, such as one of his parents, for up to five days, four times a year. Last year, the board only allowed him 72-hour passes to leave the hospital. In 2001, Hemphill was found not criminally responsible of first-degree murder in the death of former friend Renee Joynson because of a mental disorder. The 23-year-old grocery store clerk was shot to death July 19, 2000, in her Harbour Heights Drive home. The court heard Hemphill was obsessed with delusions that Joynson and other women had posted sexually explicit photos of him on the Internet. Hemphill, who was 31 at the time, broke into Joynson's house and waited inside, armed with a .22-calibre semi-automatic rifle with a silencer made from a Pepsi bottle. When Joynson arrived home, he chased her through the house, shooting her six times and choking her after she fell to the ground. He yelled, "die," over and over before dragging her body to the garage. He then went on the run and surrendered to police on Aug. 1, 2000. Officers found he'd scratched "may God forgive me" on the hood of his car. Hemphill has since been diagnosed with schizophrenia, social phobia and multiple paraphilias, or sexual delusions, which include exhibitionism and masochism. He also has alcohol abuse dependence disorder and cannabis abuse disorder. After his trial, he was sent to a secure custody facility in Penetanguishene. He was transferred to a medium-security unit at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in September 2003 and moved to the minimum-security unit in May 2004. At a 2006 review board hearing, the hospital said it wanted to move Hemphill to an all-male residence in Toronto with continued medication and supervision. It argued it would be "counter-therapeutic" to deny him the opportunity to move forward and the review board agreed to the plan. However, the review board deleted that privilege after a Feb. 9, 2007 hearing, when officials heard Hemphill had several "negative incidents" through 2006. Those included exposing himself to a female staff member in October 2006 and refusing to attend a sex drive-reduction clinic. That same month, Hemphill was "agitated, paranoid and anxious," the 2007 order said. "The accused indicated that he believed his difficulties related to anxiety about possible transition into the community," it said. In August 2006, while in public with his social worker, Hemphill spoke in a loud voice about his sexual thoughts and behaviours. He also told staff in February 2007 that while on a community pass in October 2006, he saw a female police officer and thought about punching her, taking her gun and shooting himself. The review board said in its 2007 decision that Hemphill demonstrated none of his major problems were completely under control and he should not be released into the community. That changed after a hearing on Jan. 31, but the reasons for the decision are not yet available, six weeks later. Under the recent board order, Hemphill must report to the person in charge at least once a week if he lives in the Toronto residence. Officials from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health were not available for comment.
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