The only member of the so-called Toronto 18 who has pleaded guilty to taking part in the group’s domestic terrorist plot is not a psychopath, court heard yesterday.
While Saad Khalid displays some narcissistic traits he is also a bright young man with no history of mental illness, substance abuse, or any “full-blown” psychiatric disorder, Dr. Lisa Ramshaw of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health told Khali’s sentencing hearing.
Khalid, 22, showed little emotion yesterday as Ramshaw, a forensic psychologist called by Khalid’s defence team, delivered her assessment of the man’s psychological makeup.
Khalid’s narcissistic traits include an “underlying grandiosity,” but he did not score particularly high on a test that measured psychopathic tendencies, she said.
Ramshaw told Khalid’s lawyer, Russell Silverstein, that while his client no longer agrees with terrorism, Khalid also said his disavowal “depends on how you define terrorism.”
She said Khalid now wants to bring about change in a “constructive” way.
“He has the capacity for that. He’s a bright young man… he has an extremely supportive family who are in daily contact with him,” said Ramshaw.
