WINNIPEG — The public will find out after all whether the man who decapitated a fellow Greyhound passenger and then mutilated his body will be kept in an institution or granted a conditional release.

Vince Li was found not criminally responsible for killing Tim McLean in front of horrified passengers near Portage la Prairie, Man., last July. He is to appear before Manitoba's Criminal Code review board Monday.

The board initially said it couldn't release its decision on Li's future because it could violate his privacy rights. But the board's chairman now says members have opted to take a more "nuanced approach."

John Stefaniuk said the board will make public its decision several days after the hearing, which must determine whether Li will remain in a mental hospital, be released with conditions or be given an absolute discharge.

But reasons for the ruling, which could refer to Li's history and treatment, may not be released, he said.

"The board will have to consider whether and in what form those documents or the information contained therein might be made available to the public."

Government lawyers had advised the board that it couldn't release its rulings or reasonings because that would violate two provincial laws protecting a person's privacy and personal health information.

That advice had never been tested until now.

A judge ruled in March that Li suffered from untreated schizophrenia and did not realize that killing Maclean, a 22-year-old carnival worker, was wrong.

It will be up to a handful of members on the review board to decide what happens to him now. If he is not released after Monday's hearing, he'll have to appear before the board once a year.

Board members include psychiatrists, lawyers and civilians, who will study police reports, court documents and psychiatric assessments. The assessments presented at trial said Li was a risk to himself and others.

The board will also hear verbal testimony from Li's psychiatrists and forensic mental health specialists.

The review is the only opportunity for the McLean family to read a victim impact statement, but it will be up to the board to decide whether it will hear from those still grieving McLean's gruesome death.

"There are a number of factors that play into that, including whether reading the victim impact statement might be harmful to the patient, or whether the victim impact statements are properly cast as victim impact statements instead of accusatory statements," Stefaniuk said.

An agreed statement of facts read at Li's short trial detailed how he was sitting next to a sleeping McLean on the bus when he thought he hear the voice of God.

"Suddenly the sunshine came in the bus and the voice said, 'Quick. Hurry up. Kill him and then you'll be safe,"' Li told one of his psychiatrists. "It was so quick, such an angry voice, and I had to do what it said. I was told that if I didn't listen to the voice, I would die immediately."

Li attacked McLean stabbing him dozens of times and scattering his body parts around the bus.

Carol deDelley, McLean's mother, says she feels the justice system has protected Li -- something that "boggles" her mind. She suggests he should be treated like a criminal and not a patient.

Although she worries Li will be released someday, she doubts that will happen Monday.

"They couldn't possibly do that at this point in time because the public awareness is so high surrounding this case."

DeDelley says she's hoping Li's hearing will increase pressure on the federal government to change the Criminal Code so someone can be found not psychologically accountable but still criminally responsible for a crime.

"I have nothing but time," she said. "I've already had my loss. I'm going to continue to seek change to the Criminal Code and do my best that way."