Mother of Tim McLean ends petition to change law

The mother of a Winnipeg man murdered on a Greyhound bus has given up collecting signatures for a petition to change Canada's not criminally responsible laws.

Carol de Delley's son, 22-year-old Tim McLean, was beheaded by Vince Li on a Greyhound bus in 2008. Li was found not criminally responsible.

De Delley pushed for legislation that would keep those found not criminally responsible in custody.

• 10 voices on the 'not criminally responsible' reform bill

But she said after five years, only 1,200 people have signed her petition, called 'Tim's Law.'

She said it was a tough decision to close the de Delley Foundation for Life, which also accepted donations for the effort, but it had become a financial drain.

Still, she said, she believes she has made an impact.

"I wanted to make people aware ... and I think I have done that to the best of my ability," she said. "I have brought it to the attention of the leaders of the country, the policy makers. There is a lot of information, a lot of talk that didn't exist five years ago."

De Delley said she will still fight to have the law changed.

"A killer is a killer, if you take a life, you forfeit your freedom for the rest of your life," she said. "The only thing that should change with a mentally ill killer is that they should serve their sentence in a place where they can also receive treatment."

De Delley said she will continue to raise awareness on the issue by teaming up with Wilma Derkson, whose daughter Candace was murdered.

Derksen plans to open a safe house for victims of crime.