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180 MANITOBA LAW JOURNAL |VOLUME 35 NUMBER 1
people with mental disorders may not appeal to the NCR defence, and thus the
mens rea of any crime they commit during this period is as unblemished as it
would be for anyone else, then it makes sense to hold them accountable for
crimes committed in this state, including criminal negligence. Arguably, failing to
abate one’s own mental disorder when the consequences of doing so are
potentially dire and known to the individual, constitutes criminal negligence if
death or injury results. Even though the NCR defence is available to an accused
who exacerbates or fails to abate his own mental disorder, it should not function
to retroactively exculpate him for his conduct before he would be considered
NCR.