DLM
06-10-2005, 08:41 AM
Schoolgirl killer Karla Homolka hopes to be eligible for pardon one day
MONTREAL (CP) - Schoolgirl killer Karla Homolka hopes she can prove to be a solid enough citizen that she can one day win a pardon for her crimes, Correctional Services Canada documents say.
Homolka expressed the wish during a psychiatric evaluation done in 2001, Dr. Lucinda Presse wrote in the report which was released at a hearing to decide the extent of Homolka's freedom after she is released from prison.
"She has begun to establish social supports in Quebec that she hopes will aid in her re-adjustment to the community," Presse wrote. "She has been thinking about possible careers she might pursue and she hopes ultimately to earn a pardon."
She told Dr. Bertrand Major in another evaluation a year later that she "wants to ask for a pardon" although she added she "has the impression she will never live a normal life."
In an effort to prepare herself for her post-prison future, Homolka completed a psychology degree from Queen's University. She told Major she would like to work in the legal sector.
Homolka will be eligible to apply for a pardon in 2010, five years after her 12-year sentence for manslaughter has ended. She is due to be released from prison between June 30 and July 4 and plans to live in Montreal.
Tim Danson, lawyer for the families of Homolka's victims, said they want to know when and if she applies so they can have input.
"The families have made it clear to me to write to the National Parole Board and put the families' position forward," he said in a telephone interview Thursday evening. "If the National Parole Board declines to assure us that we will be given notice then we'll have to consider our options at that point."
Danson said the parole board usually makes a distinction between murder cases and non-murder cases. He was unsure if it would view manslaughter the same way as murder.
"But if they don't, surely they will not treat Karla Homolka differently than they would anyone convicted of first-degree murder just because of her plea-bargain to manslaughter."
Homolka was sentenced on manslaughter charges in the deaths of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy after agreeing to testify against her husband, Paul Bernardo. Bernardo is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in the killings.
Danson said Homolka's belief in her ability to get a pardon confirms his long-held opinion of her.
"She's never taken responsibility, she has always diminished her role and it's part and parcel of a process of her just not getting it," he said. "That's the type of lack of insightfulness and acknowledgement of her own role that makes her a dangerous person."
The psychiatric reports, with one exception, present a generally positive picture of Homolka's attempts to rehabilitate herself.
However, a Quebec court judge granted a request last week to impose strict restrictions on her once she is free. Among those are keeping police informed on her whereabouts and refraining from associating with criminals, effectively ending her jailhouse romance with a convicted murderer.
Nadine Archambault, a spokeswoman for the National Parole Board, said pardons are granted on a case-by-case basis.
"It's not because a person thinks he deserves a pardon that he will get a pardon," she said.
A pardon would seal Homolka's criminal conviction, preventing potential employers and others from having access to it.
If Homolka decides to apply for a pardon, her behaviour during the five-year period after her release would be taken into account and whether she was involved in any criminal activities or misconduct, Archambault said.
The process would take up to a year and a National Parole Board member from the appeal division would ultimately decide the result, she said.
The victims' families could write a letter to the parole board asking that a pardon be denied to Homolka but the board doesn't have to notify them if and when Homolka would make such an application, Archambault said.
MONTREAL (CP) - Schoolgirl killer Karla Homolka hopes she can prove to be a solid enough citizen that she can one day win a pardon for her crimes, Correctional Services Canada documents say.
Homolka expressed the wish during a psychiatric evaluation done in 2001, Dr. Lucinda Presse wrote in the report which was released at a hearing to decide the extent of Homolka's freedom after she is released from prison.
"She has begun to establish social supports in Quebec that she hopes will aid in her re-adjustment to the community," Presse wrote. "She has been thinking about possible careers she might pursue and she hopes ultimately to earn a pardon."
She told Dr. Bertrand Major in another evaluation a year later that she "wants to ask for a pardon" although she added she "has the impression she will never live a normal life."
In an effort to prepare herself for her post-prison future, Homolka completed a psychology degree from Queen's University. She told Major she would like to work in the legal sector.
Homolka will be eligible to apply for a pardon in 2010, five years after her 12-year sentence for manslaughter has ended. She is due to be released from prison between June 30 and July 4 and plans to live in Montreal.
Tim Danson, lawyer for the families of Homolka's victims, said they want to know when and if she applies so they can have input.
"The families have made it clear to me to write to the National Parole Board and put the families' position forward," he said in a telephone interview Thursday evening. "If the National Parole Board declines to assure us that we will be given notice then we'll have to consider our options at that point."
Danson said the parole board usually makes a distinction between murder cases and non-murder cases. He was unsure if it would view manslaughter the same way as murder.
"But if they don't, surely they will not treat Karla Homolka differently than they would anyone convicted of first-degree murder just because of her plea-bargain to manslaughter."
Homolka was sentenced on manslaughter charges in the deaths of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy after agreeing to testify against her husband, Paul Bernardo. Bernardo is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in the killings.
Danson said Homolka's belief in her ability to get a pardon confirms his long-held opinion of her.
"She's never taken responsibility, she has always diminished her role and it's part and parcel of a process of her just not getting it," he said. "That's the type of lack of insightfulness and acknowledgement of her own role that makes her a dangerous person."
The psychiatric reports, with one exception, present a generally positive picture of Homolka's attempts to rehabilitate herself.
However, a Quebec court judge granted a request last week to impose strict restrictions on her once she is free. Among those are keeping police informed on her whereabouts and refraining from associating with criminals, effectively ending her jailhouse romance with a convicted murderer.
Nadine Archambault, a spokeswoman for the National Parole Board, said pardons are granted on a case-by-case basis.
"It's not because a person thinks he deserves a pardon that he will get a pardon," she said.
A pardon would seal Homolka's criminal conviction, preventing potential employers and others from having access to it.
If Homolka decides to apply for a pardon, her behaviour during the five-year period after her release would be taken into account and whether she was involved in any criminal activities or misconduct, Archambault said.
The process would take up to a year and a National Parole Board member from the appeal division would ultimately decide the result, she said.
The victims' families could write a letter to the parole board asking that a pardon be denied to Homolka but the board doesn't have to notify them if and when Homolka would make such an application, Archambault said.