Canadian Spree Killer

English Wikipedia Article of the Day

Mathew Charles Lamb (1948–1976) was a Canadian spree killer. Seventeen
days after his release from jail in June 1966, Lamb took a shotgun from
his uncle's house and went on a shooting spree around his home-town of
Windsor, Ontario, killing two strangers and wounding two more. He was
found not guilty by reason of insanity in January 1967, and so avoided
Canada's mandatory death penalty for capital murder, but was committed
for an indefinite time in psychiatric care. He displayed a profound
recovery over the course of six years at Penetanguishene Mental Health
Centre's maximum security Oak Ridge unit. The Executive Council of
Ontario released Lamb in early 1973 on the condition that he spend a
year under the supervision of Dr Elliot Barker, his long-time
psychiatrist at Oak Ridge. With Barker's encouragement, Lamb
volunteered for the Rhodesian Security Forces in late 1973. He served
with distinction in the Rhodesian Light Infantry and Special Air
Service until he was killed in action on 7 November 1976, soon after
his promotion to lance-corporal. He received what Newsweek called "a
hero's funeral" in the Rhodesian capital, Salisbury, before his ashes
were returned to Windsor.