Richard Bain wanted to become a minister to jail inmates
Accused says he is a different person now that he is properly medicated
Accused murderer Richard Bain told a jury that he's read the Bible front to back twice, and that he once hoped to become a minister.
Earlier this week, Bain told the jury he's an evangelist, and on Thursday the court heard that in 2013 he was studying to become a minister while in jail.
Bain is accused of first-degree murder for shooting and killing a man outside the Parti Québécois election-night victory rally on Sept. 4, 2012. Another person was also seriously injured.
Bain's lawyer, Alan Guttman, is arguing his client is not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.
In an April 2013 meeting between Bain — who was representing himself at the time — and Sgt-Det. Daniel Prieur, Bain excitedly tells the detective about his plans.
"I'm studying to be a minister," he says.
The jury was shown a video of the the 2013 meeting, in which Bain is wearing a necklace with a crucifix on it.
He says that he met with a psychiatrist, and spoke to her about religion.
"When you talk about the Bible to people who don't know it, people think you're crazy," Bain says.
Bain testified on Thursday that at the time he was hoping to minister to inmates once he got out of jail.
He told the jury that while he read his Bible thoroughly and listened to church services on the radio, he was not able to take any formal courses from jail.
Defence lawyer Alan Guttman has finished questioning his client, and the prosecution's cross-examination of Bain is expected to begin Friday morning.
'A lot of wrongs'
Bain also told the court that looking back now, he sees "a lot of wrongs" in his past.
"There's a lot of things that have transpired that I wish had not."
High on the list of Bain's regrets is his decision to split up with his girlfriend of 20 years, a decision which he says was influenced by the anti-depressant drug, Cymbalta.
The jury also heard that Bain has "deep sorrow" for the victims.
"There's so many mornings I wake up and I realize I'm in jail and I think of the victims and everybody who suffered through this. There's no personal gain in it," Bain testified.
Bain blames drug
Bain has told the court that when he was depressed, or on an anti-depressant called Cymbalta, he'd do things without thinking, or things that weren't reasonable.
But he says he's a different person now that he's on new medication. He currently takes an anti-depressant (Effexor) in the morning and an anti-psychotic (Abilify) in the evening.
- CBC's complete coverage of the Richard Bain murder trial
- What we know so far about Quebec's deadly election-night shooting
Since first entering the witness box on Monday, Bain has maintained he has no memory of the night of the shooting.
In the hours prior, he says he took six pills — possibly anti-depressants — and had a vision of his dead mother. He testified that his memory doesn't come back to him until the second interrogation, when he realized he was in trouble.
The trial is expected to last until the end of July.
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