Tuesday, May 10, 2005
two for tuesday - antagonistic albert and kreepy karla, who is soon to be free as a bird again...
And a movie on her horrid "accomplishments" - dubbed a Bernardo movie, in homage to her equally creepy hubby - will be coming out as SHE comes out of her party quarters... I mean, jail.
Paul Bernardo alone, I do believe, cost 150,000$ of Ontario taxpayers money to sentence and incarcerate... What did it cost to let Karla party on with her fellow girly-girly inmates I wonder...?!?
As for Albert... he's no prince, suffice it to say... (okay, admittedly, that was too easy - again! But hey - I'm not PAID to be funny here - eh?). And in HIS case, he has been back where he doesn't belong for a couple of months already...
Paul Bernardo alone, I do believe, cost 150,000$ of Ontario taxpayers money to sentence and incarcerate... What did it cost to let Karla party on with her fellow girly-girly inmates I wonder...?!?
As for Albert... he's no prince, suffice it to say... (okay, admittedly, that was too easy - again! But hey - I'm not PAID to be funny here - eh?). And in HIS case, he has been back where he doesn't belong for a couple of months already...
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Ontario announces plan to rein in Karla Homolka CTV.ca News Staff
Ontario officials have plans to rein in Karla Homolka when she walks out of prison less than three months from now, Attorney General Michael Bryant confirmed Monday.
"Make no mistake about it: No matter where she goes, no matter what she does, Ontario crown prosecutors will be waiting for her," he told reporters.
Bryant said his province will first ask a Quebec provincial court judge for an order restricting Homolka's movements.
He said he would also try to get a similar order in every province or territory imposing "the strictest conditions possible" on the infamous schoolgirl killer when her 12-year prison sentence ends in July.
Meanwhile, Bryant said he had the support of his counterparts in all provinces and territories, who "stand shoulder to shoulder, from coast to coast to coast, ready, willing and able to protect the public upon the release of Karla Homolka."
Tim Danson -- lawyer for the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, the two victims of Homolka and her husband Paul Bernardo -- said his clients want to see strict controls on Homolka and her movements.
In a decision made public last December, the parole board ruled that while Homolka has made some progress toward rehabilitation, there are still concerns she may pose a risk to the public.
Ontario authorities are concerned that Homolka, now 35, may choose to live in Quebec upon her release.
"The recognizance, if ordered, will contain various conditions that are designed to help prevent the commission of another offence," Bryant said.
The conditions can include curfews and suggestions of ways to keep the convicted killer on a tight leash using section 810 of the Criminal Code.
This section allows anyone to ask the provincial court to order restrictions in cases where reasonable grounds exist to believe someone will commit a serious offence.
No matter where she moves in Canada, provincial authorities are expected to seek restrictions on where she wants to live, work, and travel.
If Homolka violates a condition of the order, Bryant said she can expect a "swift return to court" and also a "vigorous prosecution.
"No matter where she goes, our justice system is going to be watching her. She has been convicted of the most horrific ghoulish crimes imaginable to human kind," he said.
Last week, a parole board in Quebec ruled in favour of keeping her in jail until the end of her 12-year sentence, denying her request to overturn another panel's December ruling.
"The parole board has made findings that she may pose a risk to the public, so we want to make sure we're doing everything to protect the public upon her release," Bryant said.
That ruling also concerned Danson.
"They (the board) were certain she will re-offend, and re-offend violently, so clearly an 810 order in the scheme of things is at best a band-aid solution," he said.
Peter Kormos, the Ontario NDP's justice critic, said, "Anything less than 24 hour-a- day, seven-days-a-week police surveillance does a huge disservice to the community and puts people at risk."
Homolka was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 1993 after pleading guilty to two counts of manslaughter for her role in Bernardo's slayings of Mahaffy, 14, and French, 15.
Bernardo was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. He was also declared a dangerous offender, making it unlikely he will every leave prison.
With a report from CTV's Peter Murphy and files from The Canadian Press
Ontario officials have plans to rein in Karla Homolka when she walks out of prison less than three months from now, Attorney General Michael Bryant confirmed Monday.
"Make no mistake about it: No matter where she goes, no matter what she does, Ontario crown prosecutors will be waiting for her," he told reporters.
Bryant said his province will first ask a Quebec provincial court judge for an order restricting Homolka's movements.
He said he would also try to get a similar order in every province or territory imposing "the strictest conditions possible" on the infamous schoolgirl killer when her 12-year prison sentence ends in July.
Meanwhile, Bryant said he had the support of his counterparts in all provinces and territories, who "stand shoulder to shoulder, from coast to coast to coast, ready, willing and able to protect the public upon the release of Karla Homolka."
Tim Danson -- lawyer for the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, the two victims of Homolka and her husband Paul Bernardo -- said his clients want to see strict controls on Homolka and her movements.
In a decision made public last December, the parole board ruled that while Homolka has made some progress toward rehabilitation, there are still concerns she may pose a risk to the public.
Ontario authorities are concerned that Homolka, now 35, may choose to live in Quebec upon her release.
"The recognizance, if ordered, will contain various conditions that are designed to help prevent the commission of another offence," Bryant said.
The conditions can include curfews and suggestions of ways to keep the convicted killer on a tight leash using section 810 of the Criminal Code.
This section allows anyone to ask the provincial court to order restrictions in cases where reasonable grounds exist to believe someone will commit a serious offence.
No matter where she moves in Canada, provincial authorities are expected to seek restrictions on where she wants to live, work, and travel.
If Homolka violates a condition of the order, Bryant said she can expect a "swift return to court" and also a "vigorous prosecution.
"No matter where she goes, our justice system is going to be watching her. She has been convicted of the most horrific ghoulish crimes imaginable to human kind," he said.
Last week, a parole board in Quebec ruled in favour of keeping her in jail until the end of her 12-year sentence, denying her request to overturn another panel's December ruling.
"The parole board has made findings that she may pose a risk to the public, so we want to make sure we're doing everything to protect the public upon her release," Bryant said.
That ruling also concerned Danson.
"They (the board) were certain she will re-offend, and re-offend violently, so clearly an 810 order in the scheme of things is at best a band-aid solution," he said.
Peter Kormos, the Ontario NDP's justice critic, said, "Anything less than 24 hour-a- day, seven-days-a-week police surveillance does a huge disservice to the community and puts people at risk."
Homolka was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 1993 after pleading guilty to two counts of manslaughter for her role in Bernardo's slayings of Mahaffy, 14, and French, 15.
Bernardo was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. He was also declared a dangerous offender, making it unlikely he will every leave prison.
With a report from CTV's Peter Murphy and files from The Canadian Press
Hollywood film on Homolka sparks outrage, stirs debate on true crime films
TORONTO (CP) - An ill-fated union of lovers. The macabre musings of seemingly ordinary suburban folk. Grisly murders that shock a nation. Storylines like these populate Canadian cinemas nightly - that's entertainment.
Throw in the names Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, call the film Deadly and an emotional outcry ensues from politicians and the public alike.
Condemnations of a Hollywood feature dramatizing the crimes of Canada's most most infamous and reviled couple have been harsh and numerous.
Filmmaker Michael Sellers says he's received "tons" of email from Canadians upset he is delving into the story.
But the sentiment fuelling that protest is somewhat of an enigma.
Is it concern for the sensibilities of the families of the two slain schoolgirls at the centre of this horrific tale? Or do explorations of humanity's dark side become simply intolerable when viewed through the lens of true crime?
"People who do these things are real human beings," Sellers, producer of Deadly, said from his Los Angeles office.
"When you de-monsterize them, and at the same time show the reality of how it happened, it's very scary to people."
Deadly, set for release this fall, chronicles the ominous courtship of Homolka and Bernardo and the notorious deeds their union ultimately produced - the brutal murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
The victims' families are gravely concerned about the script, which is woven from court transcripts detailing the torture and rape of the teens.
"Obviously we're not going to get what we want, which is simply to trash the movie and not go forward with it," said Tim Danson, lawyer for the French and Mahaffy families.
Still, Danson has discussed the film's content with Sellers and both are hopeful some common ground can be found.
"He seemed to be willing to work with us, that it wasn't his intent to violate the girls in the way that we most feared, which is simulating what's in the transcript in terms of being raped and tortured - those awful things," said Danson.
However, the film's very existence evokes strong emotions.
"I guess you can make the argument that they have a right to make the movie," said Steve Sullivan of the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime.
"Just because you have the right to do it doesn't make it the right thing to do."
Politicians in Ontario, where the grisly crimes occurred, have declared a boycott of sorts against the film, urging the public to ignore it upon release.
Sullivan fears those well-meaning words may have the opposite effect and that people will be drawn to Deadly out of morbid curiosity.
The film's profile is also likely to be raised by the fact that Homolka is portrayed by Laura Prepon, who plays Donna on That 70's Show, and by all the media attention it's getting in Canada.
True crime stories have always enjoyed a sizeable audience, from Truman Capote's In Cold Blood to Charlize Theron's Oscar-winning turn as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.
Despite the public's appetite for such fare, filmgoers should consider the larger ramifications of making a movie about Homolka and Bernardo, said Sullivan.
"You have to weigh what the impact is going to be on the people whose lives were most touched by this," he said.
"I'm not sure this movie is intended to give us a better understanding of what happened as much as it is to make a dollar."
Of the numerous missives directed at his company Quantum Entertainment, Sellers says one in particular stands out.
"The rationale given was, 'This (crime) changed the way (Canada) thought about ourselves and we don't want to go back there. We don't want to revisit that experience, it's very painful.' "
That only fuelled Sellers's interest in the project.
"There is something very deep going on there. No other producers that we know, that have been involved in other (true crime) films, have been involved in this kind of problem."
Exploring the underbelly of humanity is an artistic endeavour fraught with peril.
"If on the one hand you dehumanize such figures, you're implying something almost otherworldly about people who are responsible for grave crimes," said Charlie Keil, an associate professor of cinema studies at the University of Toronto.
"On the other hand, if you humanize them, you're saying on some level they're just like you and me. I think that's equally disturbing to people."
Whatever side the filmmaker falls on, there's going to be criticism.
The central question - how can people commit such atrocious acts - is one artists and filmmakers have a right to explore, said Keil.
"Of course, some people are going to hate the answers."
TORONTO (CP) - An ill-fated union of lovers. The macabre musings of seemingly ordinary suburban folk. Grisly murders that shock a nation. Storylines like these populate Canadian cinemas nightly - that's entertainment.
Throw in the names Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, call the film Deadly and an emotional outcry ensues from politicians and the public alike.
Condemnations of a Hollywood feature dramatizing the crimes of Canada's most most infamous and reviled couple have been harsh and numerous.
Filmmaker Michael Sellers says he's received "tons" of email from Canadians upset he is delving into the story.
But the sentiment fuelling that protest is somewhat of an enigma.
Is it concern for the sensibilities of the families of the two slain schoolgirls at the centre of this horrific tale? Or do explorations of humanity's dark side become simply intolerable when viewed through the lens of true crime?
"People who do these things are real human beings," Sellers, producer of Deadly, said from his Los Angeles office.
"When you de-monsterize them, and at the same time show the reality of how it happened, it's very scary to people."
Deadly, set for release this fall, chronicles the ominous courtship of Homolka and Bernardo and the notorious deeds their union ultimately produced - the brutal murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
The victims' families are gravely concerned about the script, which is woven from court transcripts detailing the torture and rape of the teens.
"Obviously we're not going to get what we want, which is simply to trash the movie and not go forward with it," said Tim Danson, lawyer for the French and Mahaffy families.
Still, Danson has discussed the film's content with Sellers and both are hopeful some common ground can be found.
"He seemed to be willing to work with us, that it wasn't his intent to violate the girls in the way that we most feared, which is simulating what's in the transcript in terms of being raped and tortured - those awful things," said Danson.
However, the film's very existence evokes strong emotions.
"I guess you can make the argument that they have a right to make the movie," said Steve Sullivan of the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime.
"Just because you have the right to do it doesn't make it the right thing to do."
Politicians in Ontario, where the grisly crimes occurred, have declared a boycott of sorts against the film, urging the public to ignore it upon release.
Sullivan fears those well-meaning words may have the opposite effect and that people will be drawn to Deadly out of morbid curiosity.
The film's profile is also likely to be raised by the fact that Homolka is portrayed by Laura Prepon, who plays Donna on That 70's Show, and by all the media attention it's getting in Canada.
True crime stories have always enjoyed a sizeable audience, from Truman Capote's In Cold Blood to Charlize Theron's Oscar-winning turn as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.
Despite the public's appetite for such fare, filmgoers should consider the larger ramifications of making a movie about Homolka and Bernardo, said Sullivan.
"You have to weigh what the impact is going to be on the people whose lives were most touched by this," he said.
"I'm not sure this movie is intended to give us a better understanding of what happened as much as it is to make a dollar."
Of the numerous missives directed at his company Quantum Entertainment, Sellers says one in particular stands out.
"The rationale given was, 'This (crime) changed the way (Canada) thought about ourselves and we don't want to go back there. We don't want to revisit that experience, it's very painful.' "
That only fuelled Sellers's interest in the project.
"There is something very deep going on there. No other producers that we know, that have been involved in other (true crime) films, have been involved in this kind of problem."
Exploring the underbelly of humanity is an artistic endeavour fraught with peril.
"If on the one hand you dehumanize such figures, you're implying something almost otherworldly about people who are responsible for grave crimes," said Charlie Keil, an associate professor of cinema studies at the University of Toronto.
"On the other hand, if you humanize them, you're saying on some level they're just like you and me. I think that's equally disturbing to people."
Whatever side the filmmaker falls on, there's going to be criticism.
The central question - how can people commit such atrocious acts - is one artists and filmmakers have a right to explore, said Keil.
"Of course, some people are going to hate the answers."
Daughter of notorious murderer Walker speaks out
CTV.ca News Staff
The daughter of murderer and embezzler Albert Walker spoke out for the first time today, expressing fears about what could happen if her father were to one day be released from prison.
In an exclusive interview with CTV's Kitchener, Ont. affiliate, CKCO News, Sheena Walker broke a 15 year silence, saying she's fearful for herself and her two children if Walker ever got out.
After spending almost seven years behind bars in England, Albert Walker returned to Canadian soil last month to serve the remainder of his life sentence at Millhaven penitentiary in Kingston, Ont.
In the interview with CKCO reporter Jim Troyak, Sheena says she was shocked and angry about her father's transfer to Canada.
"I was under the impression that he'd be gone for a lot longer and I would have time to build a better life for my family, just in order to protect them for the future and any threat he poses to us."
Walker's family is appealing his stay in Canada, hoping he can be returned to England to serve out his sentence.
Under the International Transfer of Offenders Act, Canadian offenders convicted abroad can serve their sentences in their country of citizenship whenever a treaty has been signed.
In February, Walker's ex-wife Barb McDonald called the transfer a "kick," saying, "Our safety has been sold."
Walker's family is also hoping he can be designated a dangerous offender, which could mean he would spend the rest of his days behind bars.
However, he is currently eligible for parole on July 6, 2013.
"He could be out a lot sooner than we thought he would be and that does scare me, and you know I'm worried about my family," says Sheena.
A small businessman with a financial services company in Woodstock, Ont., Albert Walker had a wife and four children. He went to church and was a member of a choir.
One venture he set up was United Canvest Corporation in the Cayman Islands. He persuaded members of his church congregation to invest millions in the venture.
But in 1990, he disappeared with the money, fleeing to England and taking Sheena, who was 15 years old at the time, with him.
To completely disappear, Walker stole the identity of Ronald Platt, an Englishman who wanted to return to Canada.
In exchange for bankrolling Platt's emigration to Canada in 1992, Walker took possession of Platt's birth certificate and driving licence, and lived for three years with his daughter in southeast England as Mr. and Mrs. Platt.
During this time, Sheena had two children. Their paternity was never established.
Sheena had agreed to the interview with CKCO on the condition that no questions were asked regarding her personal life and her children.
Life got complicated when the real Ronald Platt returned to England and settled near the Walkers in 1995.
So Albert Walker decided to murder Platt, and dumped his body into the sea where it was discovered in 1996. He was arrested shortly after and found guilty of embezzlement and murder.
Sheena says she has had no contact with her father.
"I think he's evil and I know a lot of people that would describe him as a sociopath or a con artist. But for me, personally, I think he's evil."
One of the unsolved mysteries of the Walker case is what happened to the millions he had stolen and the possibly $300,000 in gold bullion that was never recovered.
"I don't know anything about it," said Sheena. "He didn't confide in me, he manipulated me and lied to me just like everybody else."
With files from CKCO News in Kitchener
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CTV.ca News Staff
The daughter of murderer and embezzler Albert Walker spoke out for the first time today, expressing fears about what could happen if her father were to one day be released from prison.
In an exclusive interview with CTV's Kitchener, Ont. affiliate, CKCO News, Sheena Walker broke a 15 year silence, saying she's fearful for herself and her two children if Walker ever got out.
After spending almost seven years behind bars in England, Albert Walker returned to Canadian soil last month to serve the remainder of his life sentence at Millhaven penitentiary in Kingston, Ont.
In the interview with CKCO reporter Jim Troyak, Sheena says she was shocked and angry about her father's transfer to Canada.
"I was under the impression that he'd be gone for a lot longer and I would have time to build a better life for my family, just in order to protect them for the future and any threat he poses to us."
Walker's family is appealing his stay in Canada, hoping he can be returned to England to serve out his sentence.
Under the International Transfer of Offenders Act, Canadian offenders convicted abroad can serve their sentences in their country of citizenship whenever a treaty has been signed.
In February, Walker's ex-wife Barb McDonald called the transfer a "kick," saying, "Our safety has been sold."
Walker's family is also hoping he can be designated a dangerous offender, which could mean he would spend the rest of his days behind bars.
However, he is currently eligible for parole on July 6, 2013.
"He could be out a lot sooner than we thought he would be and that does scare me, and you know I'm worried about my family," says Sheena.
A small businessman with a financial services company in Woodstock, Ont., Albert Walker had a wife and four children. He went to church and was a member of a choir.
One venture he set up was United Canvest Corporation in the Cayman Islands. He persuaded members of his church congregation to invest millions in the venture.
But in 1990, he disappeared with the money, fleeing to England and taking Sheena, who was 15 years old at the time, with him.
To completely disappear, Walker stole the identity of Ronald Platt, an Englishman who wanted to return to Canada.
In exchange for bankrolling Platt's emigration to Canada in 1992, Walker took possession of Platt's birth certificate and driving licence, and lived for three years with his daughter in southeast England as Mr. and Mrs. Platt.
During this time, Sheena had two children. Their paternity was never established.
Sheena had agreed to the interview with CKCO on the condition that no questions were asked regarding her personal life and her children.
Life got complicated when the real Ronald Platt returned to England and settled near the Walkers in 1995.
So Albert Walker decided to murder Platt, and dumped his body into the sea where it was discovered in 1996. He was arrested shortly after and found guilty of embezzlement and murder.
Sheena says she has had no contact with her father.
"I think he's evil and I know a lot of people that would describe him as a sociopath or a con artist. But for me, personally, I think he's evil."
One of the unsolved mysteries of the Walker case is what happened to the millions he had stolen and the possibly $300,000 in gold bullion that was never recovered.
"I don't know anything about it," said Sheena. "He didn't confide in me, he manipulated me and lied to me just like everybody else."
With files from CKCO News in Kitchener
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