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Latimer Appeals Parole Board's Early Release Denial
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 23, 2008

METCHOSIN, BRITISH COLUMBIA--Robert Latimer is appealing a December 5 decision by Canada's National Parole Board, which had denied him an early release from prison because he would not say that it was wrong to kill his 12-year-old daughter, Tracy.

On Wednesday, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association filed the appeal on Latimer's behalf, arguing that the board violated its own rules when it refused to grant daytime parole two years before he serves the required minimum of 10 years of his life sentence.

John Dixon, a spokesperson for the group, said the 3-member panel was "plainly more interested in extracting a tearful apology from Latimer than it was in performing its proper function." He said the board's rules do not require a prisoner to "denounce" his crime.

Dixon also said that Latimer poses no threat to the community, that there is no need to "rehabilitate" him, and that past juries and prison administrators have recommended that he be released early.

Latimer admitted that he killed Tracy in October 1993 by pumping pick-up exhaust into the cab where he had placed her. He has insisted that he did it to "end her suffering" from cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities and physical pain.

Seven years ago, when the Canadian Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Latimer must serve at least 10 years, it noted that Tracy could have received treatment to relieve her pain. In fact, at the time of her death, Tracy was scheduled for hip surgery that was supposed to reduce her pain.

Many disability rights advocates have suggested that Latimer murdered Tracy because he was tired of dealing with his own emotional pain. Some people who knew Tracy said that even though the girl did not speak, she let them know how much she loved people and enjoyed life.

Related:
"Latimer appeals denial of early parole" (CBC News)

http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/2008/red/0123f.htm
"Tracy Latimer's Death: Mercy or Murder?" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/crime/latimer.htm

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