| "It's the legalization of
murder, said Cat Simril-Ishikawa, whose daughter
died in the fiery crash. "I think it's
madness." In the time leading up to
the crash, Campagna was taking Xenedrine, an
over-the-counter diet and weight-loss drug that
contains a "performance-enhancing"
stimulant called ephedrine. She was trying to
lose weight in preparation for running the Boston
Marathon.
The judge ruled, based on the evidence of
forensic psychiatrists, that the drug induced a
"psychotic mental disorder" which made
Campagna not responsible for her actions the
night of the crash.
As she drove her car at a minimum speed of 85
km/h in a zone with posted speed limit of 30
km/h, Campagna thought that she was flying an
airplane, and that messages on the radio told her
to speed up because she was on the way to meet
hockey star Joe Nieuwendyk, with whom she thought
she was having a baby. She has never met
Nieuwendyk, a star player with the Dallas Stars
of the NHL.
After a psychological assessment, Campagna was
declared fit to stand trial. As the trial began,
Crown counsel Robert Bonner agreed with defence
counsel that Campagna was not criminally
responsible.
That left it up to to Singh to rule on the
question, and caused Simril-Ishikawa to complain:
"There was no prosecution."
"We have two dead people here and their
killer walks out of the courtroom and is going
back to Seattle and spend the rest of her life
having a good time," said Simril-Ishikawa.
"She'll be running marathons, paying taxes
and being a good citizen. She's free and my
daughter is dead."
The judge, who said he was aware of
"potential fake pleas," said he was
cautious in reaching his conclusion, which he
noted will be controversial and painful to the
family and friends of the victims.
An attractive, physically fit woman dressed
fashionably in a black pant suit, Campagna showed
no emotion at the verdict.
Free on bail since July 6, 1998, she will be
before Singh today for a disposition hearing to
determine how much supervision, if any, is
required.
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