Kristen French was 15 and Leslie Mahaffy was 14 when Paul Bernardo kidnapped, tortured and killed them.
The lawyer representing the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy — tortured and killed in two of the most heinous crimes in modern Canadian history — says the justice system has let them down again by denying the victims' mothers the opportunity to deliver their victim impact statements in person at Paul Bernardo's upcoming parole hearing.
"This was truly a shock to their system. It was bone chilling — an insult so deep and hurtful that, , it set victims' rights back to the stone age." According to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the board can restrict attendance if "the security and good order of the institution in which the hearing is to be held is likely to be adversely affected by the person's presence."
"Even the worst offenders are smart enough to behave properly when appearing before the Parole Board claiming that they no longer represent a threat to public safety and therefore ought to be paroled. There has to be an air of reality to this."He argued that delivering impact statements in person brings an "overarching human dimension and quality" to the proceeding.
"How can there possibly be any such concerns at the La Macaza Institute, a medium security facility? If such concerns have now arisen, why hasn't Mr. Bernardo been transferred back to Millhaven or some other maximum-security institution?" Danson wrote.Bernardo's controversial transfer to La Macaza last year sparked outrage and demands for changes to how dangerous offenders are treated.
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