Two very well-known names came up at recent parole hearings, both cases making it to the national news on the strength of who was involved; the cases are very, very different, but some may argue, they show what's wrong with our parole system today.
The one hearing saw the granting of a full parole to Robert Latimer, a farmer from Wilkie, Sask., who killed his severely-disabled daughter supposedly as an "act of mercy".
This case has divided many people, because some view it not as a straight-ahead case of murder; it involved the suffering of a young girl with cerebral palsy, and a parent who felt he couldn't take seeing her in pain anymore. Latimer finally decided she had suffered enough, and placed her in the cab of his truck and fed in the truck exhaust to kill her.
To me, the question comes down to one of the value of life; wasn't the daughter's life worth anything? Should a person, a dad or whoever, be allowed to just kill them if they feel the suffering is too great? Who is to judge if the pain was too great?
Parents of disabled children were greatly disturbed by the crime, because this man took his daughter's life in his own hands. As noble as his intentions may have been, none of us on earth are granted that right. Many do exercise that right - and they are correctly convicted of murder or manslaughter.
That said, I don't know that he should've been kept in jail as long as he was; he is not ever going to re-offend or be a danger to anyone else.
On the other hand, notorious serial killer Clifford Olson also came up for a parole hearing this week, and surprisingly enough, he asked that he not be given that privilege again.
I have a few problems with this, starting with the biggest, most glaring one: who on Earth thought he should even be allowed to have a parole hearing? If Canada had any true justice, he would've been executed for his heinous crimes. As it is, since we have to live in a country without capital punishment, he should never, ever be allowed to have parole.
Whether he asked to never have another parole hearing or not is irrelevant to me - again, if the justice system in this country worked at all, he would have been classed as a dangerous offender long ago, and never allowed to see freedom again.
It may seem incongruous to talk above about the value of life, and then support capital punishment - but in my opinion, there are some cases where it would be completely justified. Clifford Olson is one, Paul Bernardo is another; what do you think?
