Justice or Vengeance?
The truly unfortunate case of a Saskatchewan farmer who put his horribly disabled twelve-year-old daughter to death in a supreme instance of end-of-the-line compassion still haunts Canadians. He admitted that he killed his beloved child as an act of mercy.He could no longer bring himself to witness her pain, her incomprehension at her own suffering, and saw no value to a life of continued anguish in a child whose mental capacity was that of a 3-month-old, and whose physical capacity matched her mental state.
Totally dependent upon parental care for every minute of her tortured life. With parents who loved her as parents love their children, despite any depth of misfortunes associated with the lives of those children.
It is clear, it should be obvious to even the most biased observer that this father's choice was a difficult, horribly painful one, but one that was reached after deep deliberation and in a true expression of his love and compassion for that child.
Despite which the justice system, spurred on by a public split on the morality of the concept of compassionate euthanasia - as opposed to the right to life of anyone - regardless of how lacking in quality that life might be, despite any circumstances detrimental to their quality of life, found this father, RobertLatimer, guilty of a crime that earned him a life sentence as society's implacable punishment.
He has now served 7 years of his 10-year minimum sentence. Appearing before a National Parole Board panel in a quest for day parole, he was turned down because the panel questioning him was not satisfied with his responses to their probing questions. In their great wisdom the board recommended counselling for Mr.Latimer and that he take part in prison programmes designed to ingrain in him an "understanding" of his actions. As though strangers sitting in judgement know better what motivated this man than he does.
As though they too were forced by tragic circumstances to anguish day after day over the cruel fate visited upon a beloved child who would never realize any kind of potential as a fully cognizant and capable human being. A child destined forever - or at least as long as her natural life extended, given her grave medical condition - to live in the depths of unknowing, and of ongoing pain, punctuated by operations meant to alleviate her worsening condition, and which intervention served to expose her to additional pain.
Mr. Latimer ended his daughter's tragic life by seating her in his truck and pumping exhaust into its interior until the child died of carbon-monoxide poisoning. His final act of mercy was embarked upon to spare his child further misery. His daughter Tracy had cerebral palsy, a result of brain damage suffered during birth. Tracy was a quadriplegic. Unable to speak or feed herself she was totally dependent upon the loving ministrations of her parents.
She had a twisted spine which necessitated multiple operations and more in the offing. She suffered from malnutrition, seizures and chronic vomiting. The panel of his inquisitors put "simple" questions to Mr. Latimer, such as how he felt while committing the murder. His response? That his thoughts and feelings were private, not to be shared with strangers; but no dignity was permitted this haunted man.
His parole officer recommended he be granted day parole. It was attested to that he posed no threat to the public. He had a firm plan in mind relating to the manner in which he would comport himself, how he would be involved in a matter close to his heart; bringing exculpatory evidence to the notice of jurists on the Supreme court, one of whom agonized over their lack of knowledge in judging this man initially.
His conviction of second-degree murder, his life sentence with no eligibility for parole for ten years, the fact that a judge in Saskatchewan had exempted him from the minimum sentence and handed him a lesser two-year sentence one year of which would be that of house arrest, give ample evidence of confusion in the face of this tragedy.
It is past time for this man to be pardoned by the justice system. Vengeance cannot be confused with justice.
Labels: Canada, Human Fallibility, Justice
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, December 06, 2007
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