Inclusion Daily Express -- Panel Grants Christmas Release For Latimer

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Panel Grants Christmas Release For Latimer
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
December 15, 2008

SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN--Canada's National Parole Board has granted Robert Latimer permission to visit his family for 10 days during the Christmas and New Year holiday.

The confessed murderer will not be supervised during that time.

The parole board told Latimer in a letter that his case management team has "no concerns regarding your behavior in the community and they believe that your risk to reoffend remains low."

Latimer is serving a mandatory minimum 10 years of his life sentence for gassing to death his 12-year-old daughter Tracy, who had cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities.

On Sunday, October 24, 1993, while the rest of the family went to church, Latimer took Tracy out to his pickup truck, placed her inside the cab, and then watched her through the window while the vehicle pumped deadly exhaust inside.

After two days of denying that he killed her, Latimer confessed, saying he did it because he did not want to see her continue to suffer from her cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities and hip pain.

The Supreme Court noted later that at the time of her death Tracy was scheduled for surgery designed to relieve her hip pain.

Disability rights groups have criticized the mainstream media for portraying Mr. Latimer as the victim in this case. Many see Tracy Latimer's death and her killer's support as examples of society's intolerance of disabilities.

In February of this year, the parole board granted Latimer daytime parole. He will be eligible for full parole in December 2010.

When he is released, he will not have responsibility for or make decisions for anybody with "severe" disabilities.

Related:
"Tracy Latimer's Death: Mercy Or Murder?" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/crime/latimer.htm

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