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Homolka unleashed

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army_paralegal

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JOLIETTE, Que. (CP) - Karla Homolka, Canada's most infamous female convict, grimaced tightly Friday when a judge told her she'd be forbidden from consorting with violent criminals as part of a range of restrictions upon her release from jail in about a month.


Homolka also raised her shoulders slightly when a Quebec judge told she can't contact her onetime partner in crime and ex-husband, Paul Bernardo, who's been declared a dangerous offender and is serving a life sentence for the sex slayings of two southern Ontario schoolgirls in the early 1990s.

Judge Jean Beaulieu also ordered Homolka to stay in touch with police about her whereabouts, avoid consorting with children under 16 and to stay away from her victims for at least a 12-month period.

The ruling came after an extraordinary two-day hearing that saw Homolka step into the public eye for the first time since 1995, when she testified against Bernardo at his first-degree murder trial in the deaths of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.

She is close to completing her full 12-year manslaughter sentence for her part in the crimes. Authorities will have to reapply to the court again in a year to have the restrictions placed upon her again under Section 810 of the Criminal Code.

News of restrictions, however short-term, was greeted with relief by the families of the victims, their lawyer said.

"They're very pleased with the decisions," Tim Danson said outside the courtroom.

Ontario officials were also delighted.

"Today Canada's justice system acted - not reacted - acted to prevent harm upon Homolka's release and to protect the public upon Homolka's release," Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant said in Toronto.

Homolka, 35, showed little emotion as Beaulieu told court that the Ontario Crown's fears that she might reoffend were reasonable before proceeding to read out restrictions that included a requirement that she undergo therapy and give police 96 hours' notice if she wants to leave Quebec.

She's also forbidden from consuming drugs other than prescription medication.

Homolka's lawyer, Sylvie Bordelais, said Homolka would respect the conditions, calling her an "obedient citizen."

"She never wanted to do anything wrong and she doesn't want to raise the animosity and fear or any bad feelings people might have regarding her," Bordelais said outside court.

"The only thing that she wanted was to see her family, to see her nephew and her niece ... that was her main concern."

Bordelais didn't say whether she planned to appeal the ruling.

The hearing in this community north of Montreal heard psychiatrists for Homolka portray her as a victim who was under the control of her violent and psychopathic husband during the abductions and sex slayings of French and Mahaffy.

The Crown argued that Homolka remains a serious public danger who should be kept under close surveillance when she is released in about a month.

But a psychiatrist who evaluated Homolka last month said Friday the schoolgirl killer is neither a psychopath nor a serious threat to reoffend.

Louis Morissette portrayed Homolka as a woman with low self-esteem who participated in violent sexual crimes because she was afraid of losing Bernardo.

"The experts mostly agree, if she hadn't met Bernardo, it would never have happened," Morissette told the hearing.

On Friday, Homolka, dressed in a charcoal-coloured blouse and grey pants, smiled a few times from the prisoner's dock but showed little other emotion as Morissette described her as a narcissist.

Morissette met Homolka twice last month and reviewed her entire psychological history.

"Is she dangerous in the short term? No. If you tell me is she is at risk to make a bad relationship choice and of doing something bad, that's her vulnerability. And she has to be followed."

Beaulieu, who did not intervene very often during the morning testimony, said his role is to protect society.

"Here we are in 2005 and she's come back to the same pattern," Beaulieu said. "She's back with a partner who is acting in the same style as the old one."

Beaulieu was referring to Homolka's relationship with Jean-Paul Gerbet, who is up for parole in 2008 for the murder of his girlfriend seven years ago.

Morissette played down reports of a sexual history between the two and testified that is not the story he was told.

"When you ask Madame Teale (Homolka), it was a kiss in the library that was seen by a guard."

Court heard Thursday that Homolka had a nude photo of Gerbet in her cell, as well as a pair of his underwear.

But Morissette said the photo was one that showed Gerbet naked from the waist up in a swimming pool. He added the two exchanged "clean underwear."

"Is this abnormal?" Morissette said. "That's the question."

Morissette said Homolka knows she can't have a relationship with Gerbet because he will be deported to his native France when he is released from prison.

The two exchanged letters as recently as two weeks ago.

"These are things that must be discussed," Morissette said. "She doesn't hide it. She discusses it."

In an afternoon exchange, the Crown cross-examined Morissette and brought up a 1996 counselling session in which Homolka described the kind of man she would like to meet.

"Mrs. Teale has established criteria selection for her next eventual partner," the document said. "She wishes to find a man who believes in the moral values of marriage, wants children, is loyal, is educated, loves his mother, has a good attitude toward women, doesn't have a history of abuse in his family, no criminal record, who is loved by her family and loves pets and, if possible, is good looking."

"This isn't a good description of Jean-Paul Gerbet."

In her closing arguments, Homolka's lawyer argued that her client's rights would be violated if restrictions were placed on her freedom.

"She's conscious of the fact that she does everything possible to never find herself in the situation she was in," said Bordelais, adding that Canadians should learn to understand she has changed and is no longer dangerous.

Homolka and Gerbet met at Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, a maximum-security institution north of Montreal during Homolka's stay there between 2001 and 2003. She had been transferred there after the publication of photos of her at a birthday party at the Joliette Institute sparked public outrage.

Morissette also told court Homolka had a lengthy lesbian relationship at Joliette.

Homolka has been incarcerated in Joliette, 75 kilometres north of Montreal, but there were unconfirmed reports Homolka did not return to the prison Thursday night and, instead, slept at Ste-Anne-des-Plaines.

On Friday, the president of the union representing prison guards in Quebec said Homolka was the target of death threats a few weeks ago.

"The information we received was that the inmate in question did receive death threats," said Sylvain Martel. "Corrections Canada set up additional security measures to protect prison guards at the Joliette Institute."

Martel said the threats came from outside the penitentiary.

Homolka's controversial plea bargain with the Crown was made before authorities learned of the horrific images of torture and rape caught on videotape and hidden in the couple's southern Ontario home - tapes that also cast a different light on the woman who had portrayed herself as a battered wife.

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JOLIETTE, Que. (CP) - A judge ruled Friday that Karla Homolka will face certain restrictions over the next 12 months. Homolka must:

-Check in with police once a month.

-Give police her address and tell them about her job and roommates.

-Advise police of any change in her name or address.

-Stay way from drugs.

-Not work anywhere she would have access to barbiturates.

-Not work with people under 16 or have any ties of authority with anyone under 16.

-Undergo regular therapy.

-Give a DNA sample.

-Stay away from the families of her victims.

-Not associate with violent criminals.

-Give police 96 hours' notice if she wants to leave Quebec.

 
Does anyone else think this waste of money could've been stopped twelve years ago with a 50 cent bullet?
 
rmc_wannabe said:
Does anyone else think this waste of money could've been stopped twelve years ago with a 50 cent bullet?
yup. Or an axe. Or a rope. They're re-useable, and there's still a lot of people need killin'.
 
They may need it......but in her case I doubt it would have happened anyway as she had a deal to testify against Bernardo...........At least shes not off scot free..........
 
condor888000 said:
At least shes not off scot free..........
no? And, of course, little Miss Psycho is going to follow all of the conditions on her release because she has such respect for the Law.
 
Well, what was the description for her "obedient citizen"?  I think that was what her lawyer called her.  Bah!  :rage:
 
paracowboy said:
no? And, of course, little Miss Psycho is going to follow all of the conditions on her release because she has such respect for the Law.

Take it up with the prosecutors who made the deal with the devil, not with me. I think the only thing she should see outside of a prison for the rest of her life should be a nice little hole, 3'x 6'x 6' deep................even thats too good for her.
 
condor888000 said:
Take it up with the prosecutors who made the deal with the devil, not with me. I think the only thing she should see outside of a prison for the rest of her life should be a nice little hole, 3'x 6'x 6' deep................even thats too good for her.
that was snippy wasn't it? Apologies. It wasn't aimed at you.
But I can't reach the people I want to throttle.
 
 She's no different than any other murdering pedophile so why treat her different. I say let her out to roam and ensure that everywhere she goes is widely publicised with her picture on telephone poles and let mob justice deal with her. Soon she will be begging to go back to prison.
 
That works fine.......unless she finds herself another victim. Granted, everyone and their dog is gonna be watching her...but you never can tell what'll happen.....
 
SHELLDRAKE!! said:
 She's no different than any other murdering pedophile so why treat her different. I say let her out to roam and ensure that everywhere she goes is widely publicised with her picture on telephone poles and let mob justice deal with her.
has this actually worked? I've heard nothing of any lynchings, beatings, or other common-sense approaches. (Although, a few years back, we almost had one in my home town, but he skipped out an hour or so before the torch-bearing mob got there.) Am I just missing them?
The only cure for pedophilia is death. The sooner, the better for any future victims.
 
Quite frankly Im sickened by the fact that they have imposed these resrtictions. She has completed her sentance. If everyone is so upset she is getting out then we should overhaul the system so that this doesnt happen again. The idea that she does all the time given her and then we go back and restrict afterwards is a miscarriage. I dont care what your emotions are saying. This is not how the system is supposed to work. If she was such a danger then 12 years ago they should have gone the whole 9 with her. The bargin was a farce.  And should never have happened. But it did and we have to live with it.

Actually I guess we dont have too. Because now we are free to go back and add on to the sentance.  :( When you complete your sentance you are supposed to be released no restrictions. It starts with Karla and then it becomes common place in the system. She should be registered as a sex offender and punted.
 
I agree with Beadwindow.  Not that she doesn't deserve all this crap...but because she has completed her sentence.  Now the state has decided that it can arbitrarily assign extra conditions on her release, AFTER the fact.  This is wrong.

Is this wrong because she's such a good person?  No.  Is this wrong because she's not a danger to the public?  No.  It's wrong because society, us, is supposed to be the "good guys", which means that we adhere to difficult but clear-cut standards, such as letting convicted criminals free at the end of their sentence...because it is right in principle.

Wouldn't be sad if she got hit by a bus tomorrow, or if she were lynched....but law and order would require that her lynchers be prosecuted.

In any case, if you don't like the sentence she was given, and the degree she got at taxpayer expense, then perhaps that sentence shouldn't have been handed out in the first place.  Bad decision, sure, but the mark of an adult, and mature society is that you live with your bad decisions.  Don't say..."oh, I made a mistake, let me fix that at someone else's expense"--because tomorrow it could be you.

That's all.
 
I agree with both Gunnar and Beadwindow.  She's paid her debt to society and as such the government has absolutely no right to add on additional restrictions.  I think it was a huge miscarriage of justice that she got a 12 year walk as opposed to Dangerous Offender status, but what is done is done.  With any luck she'll live out the rest of her life as a law abiding citizen.

About the plea negotiation, I'm of the firm belief that the trial judge should have rejected it but sadly that didn't happen.  At least Paul Bernardo won't be leaving prison alive.
 
Hey All

To be honest I believe that her post-prison restrictions have been imposed for political reasons as much as for public safety.

Just my humble opinion though.

Slim
 
I am not a party to the deal that Homolka made with the Crown but perhaps part of the deal was that at the end of her sentence she would be released with "conditions". Perhaps the fact that her lawyer(s) haven't put up much of a fuss over the conditions is an idication that they are kosher.

For the record I don't believe that Homolka has paid her debt to society as some posters here have claimed. Justice is meant to be served to the victims, not the murderers, if it isn't fair to her well so be it. This isn't a case of the system not being fair to her, it is a case of the system ot being fair to her victims, current and future.

By the way, I went to the same school as Homolka and remember pretty vividly hearing the announcement that Tammy had died. Her locker was just three down from mine and the sight of her friends sobbing in the halls was pretty tough to watch. I didn't know either of them, Karla was a few years older, Tammy a few years younger but the shock and grief was staggering. So was the terror that gripped St.Catharines when schoolgirls started disappearing. It may be hard to believe but we were genuinely living in fear for a long time. Those schoolgirls were the same age as some of my friends. Homolka is an example of the worst of human nature and should be removed from society. Permanently.   
 
Quote from Slim,
To be honest I believe that her post-prison restrictions have been imposed for political reasons as much as for public safety.

...its all about political reasons here, my friend, dirtbags just like her/him get released to halfway houses across this country everyday, only thier pictures and stories won't make for good shock/schlock reading.[ and political points]
Notice how quiet the federal govt. is?.....hmmm,
 
I am not a party to the deal that Homolka made with the Crown....

Actually, you are.  Living under a society and accepting its laws makes you a party to it.  The Crown is merely representing your interests as a member of the society we call 'Canada'.  If you don't like it, well, this is a democracy...you get to vote, protest, write letters & etc...

For the record I don't believe that Homolka has paid her debt to society as some posters here have claimed. Justice is meant to be served to the victims, not the murderers, if it isn't fair to her well so be it. This isn't a case of the system not being fair to her, it is a case of the system ot being fair to her victims, current and future.

For the record, I happen to agree with you.  However, she HAS paid her debt to society as defined by the rules of that society, i.e., the law, her deal, etc.  If we can renege on what those rules mean, then we no longer have a society, but mob rule.

Homolka is an example of the worst of human nature and should be removed from society. Permanently.

Apparently there are consequences to playing a passive role in a free and democratic society...the active ones steer the society in a direction that allows this sort of thing to happen.  Not pointing at you particularly, just at the people who keep voting for kinder, gentler politicians who make this possible...without ever looking at the ultimate consequences of their actions.  Well guys, here's a consequence...but since society is a game with commonly accepted rules, you either play the game, or you don't.  If you don't, you're an outlaw or a vigilante...and the game-players will rightly view you as a threat.  If you DO, then Karla is free to do as she wishes, by the rules of society.  If you don't like the rules, well...this game has a built-in change mechanism...but you need to organise a lot of people away from their televisions and make them think to do that....

The laws of society are like making filtered coffee.  We agree on a set of commonly accepted principles for the filter, and we get to drink whatever comes through it.  If sometimes stuff gets through the filter, you need to improve your filtration mechanism...but you can't *unmake* the coffee once you're run it through a faulty filter.  You can refuse to drink the coffee yourself, i.e., don't associate, approve of, or have anything to do with Homolka...but you can't put the coffee back in the beans until you get the filter right...this pot is made.  Accept it, and move on.  Don't make coffee that way in future!


 
Andyboy said:
For the record I don't believe that Homolka has paid her debt to society as some posters here have claimed.

Technically, she has. Whether or not the 'price' was high enough or not, that is up for debate. Whether she has paid the bill given to her by our 'Justice' system is not debatable as she served everyday of her sentence.

Andyboy said:
Justice is meant to be served to the victims, not the murderers, if it isn't fair to her well so be it. This isn't a case of the system not being fair to her, it is a case of the system ot being fair to her victims, current and future.

Right or wrong, our Justice System is not intended to be accountable to victims. Offences under the Criminal Code (such as murder and rape) are offences against the Crown, not the victim, hence the 'Regina vs. Bernardo' and not 'French vs. Bernardo' or 'Homolka vs. Bernardo' or 'Mahaffey vs. Bernardo'. Under the established system, victims are merely witnesses to the crime against the Crown, no different than any other witness.

Regarding fairness to the victims, well, unfortunately, this is irrelevant under our system.

What would I like to see happen to her? Dangerous Offender/Sex Offender status is about the only 'legal' thing they can do. Of course if someone 'accidentally' ran her over, well, I wouldn't shed a tear.

 
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