An update on the strange case of “Dave Mabus” and his one-man crusade against atheists, scientists and journalists:
The Montreal man who had been wanted by police for allegedly making online death threats against people all over the world appeared in court on Friday to face 16 charges.
Known online as “David Mabus”, Dennis Markuze of St. Laurent has been charged with uttering death threats and for criminally harassing seven victims.
Two charges were laid against him Wednesday — and an additional 14 were added on Friday.
Markuze has been sent for a 30-day psychological evaluation at Montreal’s Pinel Institute and will appear in court again on Sept. 19.
Emphasis mine.
Regardless of what some attention-seekers on this blog and elsewhere have argued, Dennis Markuze’s actions have been, if performed by a rational actor, quite illegal. If he is not a rational actor, then I sincerely hope that he gets the help he needs. Thank goodness this is finally happening. Seventeen years is far too long to be nursing a delusion and an obsessive fixation like the one he’s been dealing with. We are only too lucky that nobody came to any harm.
For a thorough anthology of Dennis Markuze’s one-man war, check at Skeptical Software Tools, where Tim Farley’s built an unparalleled monument to Markuze’s fixation.
Ditto every one of your sentiments, Troy.
Hey guys. thanks for the update homie. I too hope that he gets the help that he needs, and it sure seems like he needs help. That ‘skeptical software’ article is the best, most comprehensive article I’ve read on the dude. Here’s to hoping that he never harasses anyone again.
Kriss
ps Drink beer
I’m glad this finally got taken care of, Jason.
I just hope that Dennis’s condition hasn’t advanced past the point where treatment will still be effective.
It’s not a pretty thought to have someone permanently institutionalized because drug treatments won’t work anymore, and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy…even if I had any.
Did somebody say “beer”? I’m down to 120 litres, but that’s still enough for a few people to toast in the hopes the Markuze gets the assistance he requires. It’s a fun sport to mock the idiocy of a philosophical enemy, but mental illness is a horrible thing to have to deal with.
I wonder if those last few tweets were from his mother.
This is good news and it looks like we all hope he gets the treatment he probably desperately needs. Mental illness isn’t a pleasant world to live in.
I hope his mother gets some support too: it looks like she’s having trouble coming to terms with her son’s problems.
[…] in point while I was writing this: there’s this guy named Dennis Markuze, who’s posted regularly under the name of Dave Mabus, who’s back on the blogosphere. […]