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Robert
William LATIMER
Classification:
Homicide
Characteristics: Parricide
- Mercy killing
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: October 24,
1993
Date of birth:
March 13,
1953
Victim profile: His severely disabled daughter Tracy,
12
Method of murder: By placing her in his truck and connecting a hose from the truck's
exhaust pipe to the cab
Location: Saskatchewan,
Canada
Status: Sentenced
to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for ten
years November 1994. Released December 6, 2010
Robert Latimer
(born March 13, 1953) is a Canadian farmer sentenced to life
imprisonment without the possibility of parole for ten years for
the murder of his daughter Tracy (born November 23, 1980), which
occurred on October 24, 1993.
This act sparked a significant national
controversy on the ethics of mercy killings, and two Supreme
Court decisions, R. v. Latimer (1997), on section 10 of
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and later R. v.
Latimer (2001), on cruel and unusual punishments under
section 12 of the Charter.
Latimer says that he killed his daughter because
she had severe mental and physical disabilities and ongoing
health problems as a result of cerebral palsy and he believed
that the next surgery she was to have, to remove a permanently
disconnected hip, would only add to her suffering. He is seeking
a reduction of his sentence (having served three years as of
2004).
Supporters of Latimer said that this was a mercy
killing which should not be punished as harshly as other
murders. (The minimum penalty for second degree murder in Canada
is life imprisonment, with parole eligibility beginning after 10
years). The jury that convicted him felt that he should spend
one year in jail and another under house arrest at his farm near
Wilkie, Saskatchewan.
However, disability rights advocates said that
killing a severely disabled child like Tracy should carry the
same penalty as killing a non-disabled child. To do otherwise
would devalue the lives of disabled people and also increase the
risk of more such killings by their caregivers.
Robert Latimer is currently serving his sentence
in a minimum-security facility on Vancouver Island.
Robert William "Bob"
Latimer (born
March 13,
1953), a Canadian canola and wheat farmer, was convicted
of second-degree murder in the death of his daughter Tracy
(November
23, 1980 –
October 24,
1993). This case sparked a national controversy on the
definition and ethics of euthanasia as well as the rights of
people with disabilities, and two Supreme Court decisions, R.
v. Latimer (1997), on section 10 of the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, and later R. v. Latimer (2001), on
cruel and unusual punishments under section 12 of the Charter.
Latimer was released on day parole in March 2008 and was granted full parole, effective December 6,
2010.
Farm and family
Before his imprisonment, Bob Latimer lived
near Wilkie, Saskatchewan, on a 1,280 acres (520 ha) wheat and
canola farm with his wife, Laura, and their four children.
Tracy Latimer
Tracy Latimer was born
November 23,
1980. An interruption in Tracy's supply of oxygen during
the birth caused cerebral palsy, leading to severe mental and
physical disabilities including seizures that were controlled
with seizure medication. She had little or no voluntary control
of her muscles, wore diapers, and could not walk or talk. Her
doctors described the care given by her family as excellent.
The Supreme Court judgment of 1997 noted, "It
is undisputed that Tracy was in constant pain." In her medical
testimony Dr. Dzus, Tracy's orthopaedic surgeon, noted "the
biggest thing I remember from that visit is how painful Tracy
was. Her mother was holding her right leg in a fixed, flexed
position with her knee in the air and any time you tried to move
that leg Tracy expressed pain and cried out". She also noted
that despite having a hip that had been dislocated for many
months Tracy could not take painkillers because she was on anti-seizure
medication which, in combination with painkillers, could lead to
renewed seizures, stomach bleeding, constipation, aspiration and
aspiration pneumonia.
Robert Latimer reported that the family was
not aware of any medication other than Tylenol that could be
safely administered to Tracy. Considering it too intrusive, the
Latimers did not wish a feeding tube to be inserted, though
according to the 2001 Supreme Court judgment it might have
allowed more effective pain medication to be administered, as
well as improve her nutrition and health.
During her life, Tracy underwent several
surgeries, including surgery to lengthen tendons and release
muscles, and surgery to correct scoliosis in which rods were
inserted into her back.
Despite her medical condition, Tracy attended
school regularly in Wilkie. People who worked with Tracy in
group homes and schools described her smile, love of music and
reaction to horses at the circus. According to the Crown
prosecutors' brief presented at the second trial, "She also
responded to visits by her family, smiling and looking happy to
see them. There is no dispute that through her life, Tracy at
times suffered considerable pain. As well, the quality of her
life was limited by her severe disability. But the pain she
suffered was not unremitting, and her life had value and quality."
In October 1993, Dr. Dzus recommended further
surgery on November 19,
1993 in the hope that it would lessen the constant pain
in Tracy's dislocated hip. Depending on the state of her hip
joint, the procedure might have been a hip reconstruction or it
might have involved removing the upper part of her thigh bone,
leaving the leg connected to her body only by muscles and nerves.
The anticipated recovery period for this
surgery was one year. The Latimers were told that this procedure
would cause pain, and the doctors involved suggested that
further surgery would be required in the future to relieve the
pain emanating from various joints in Tracy's body."
Dr. Dzus reported that "the post operative
pain can be incredible", and described the only useful short-term
solution being the use of an epidural to anesthetize the lower
part of the body and help alleviate pain while Tracy was still
in hospital.
Tracy's death
On
October 24,
1993, Laura Latimer found Tracy dead. She had died under
the care of her father while the rest of the family was at
church. At first Robert Latimer maintained that Tracy had died
in her sleep; however, when confronted by police with autopsy
evidence that high levels of carbon monoxide were found in
Tracy's blood, Latimer confessed that he had killed her by
placing her in his truck and connecting a hose from the truck's
exhaust pipe to the cab. He said he had also considered other
methods of killing Tracy, including Valium overdose and "shooting
her in the head".
Robert Latimer said his actions were
motivated by love for Tracy and a desire to end her pain. He
described the medical treatments Tracy had undergone and was
scheduled to undergo as "mutilation and torture". "With the
combination of a feeding tube, rods in her back, the leg cut and
flopping around and bedsores, how can people say she was a happy
little girl?" Latimer asked.
Murder trials
and appeals
On
November 16,
1994, a jury convicted Latimer of second degree murder.
However, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a retrial, because
of jury interference as the prosecutor had questioned potential
jurors about religion, abortion, and mercy killing during jury
selection. (See R. v. Latimer (1997) for more information on
this decision.) On
November 5,
1997, the jury at the second trial again found Latimer
guilty of second degree murder.
Although the minimum sentence for second-degree
murder is life with no chance of parole until after 10 years,
the jury recommended that Latimer be eligible for parole after
one year. Because he believed Latimer was motivated by
compassion, Judge Ted Noble argued that a "constitutional
exemption" could apply, and sentenced him to two years, one in
jail and one under house arrest.
The Crown appealed the decision because
Latimer had not received the minimum sentence for his crime. The
Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled that Latimer would have to
serve a life sentence. Latimer appealed this decision to the
Supreme Court of Canada, asserting that he had not been allowed
to argue that he had no choice but to kill Tracy, and that a
life sentence was cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme
Court unanimously upheld Latimer's conviction and life sentence
holding that Latimer had other options available to him and that
the minimum 10-year sentence was not excessive.
Prison
Robert Latimer began serving his sentence on
January 18,
2001 and was incarcerated at William Head Institution, a
minimum-security facility located 30 kilometers west of
Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island. While in prison, he completed
the first year of carpentry and electrician apprenticeships. He
continued to run the farm with the help of a manager.
Parole
On
December 5,
2007 Robert Latimer requested day parole from the
National Parole Board in Victoria, BC. He told the parole board
that he believed killing his daughter was the right thing to do.
The board denied his request, saying that Latimer had not
developed sufficient insight into his actions, despite
psychological and parole reports that said he was a low risk to
reoffend unless he was put into the same situation again.
In January 2008, the B.C. Civil Liberties
Association filed the appeal on Latimer's behalf, arguing that
in denying parole the board had violated its own rules by
requiring admission of wrongdoing and by ignoring the low risk
for reoffending.
In February 2008, a review board overturned
the earlier parole board decision, and granted Latimer day
parole stating that there was low risk that Latimer would re-offend.
Latimer was released from William Head Prison
and began his day parole in Ottawa in March. On his release he
expressed his plan to press for a new trial and for
identification of the pain medication that the 2001 Supreme
Court ruling suggested he could have used instead of killing his
daughter.
Public debate
Support for
Latimer
A 1999 poll found that 73% of Canadians
believed that Latimer acted out of compassion and should receive
a more lenient sentence. The same poll found that 41% believe
that mercy killing should not be illegal. Ethicist Arthur
Schafer argued that Robert Latimer was "the only person in
Canadian history to spend even a single day in prison for a
mercy killing" and that compassion and common sense dictated a
reduced sentence and the granting of parole. In their book, "The
Elements of Moral Philosophy", James Rachels and Stuart Rachels
present Robert Latimer's actions sympathetically.
Support for
Latimer's conviction and sentence
Numerous disability rights groups obtained
intervenor status in the Latimer's appeal to the Supreme Court
of Canada, arguing that killing a severely disabled child like
Tracy is no different than killing a non-disabled child and
should carry the same penalty. To do otherwise, they argued,
would devalue the lives of disabled people and increase the risk
of more such killings by their caregivers.
Religious groups representing the Roman
Catholic church and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada also
appeared as intervenors in Latimer's Supreme Court appeal.
Latimer's 2007 application for day-parole was
rejected primarily because he still denied any wrongdoing.
Maclean's columnist Andrew Coyne argued that the National
Parole Board was right to expect remorse on Latimer's part,
because to do otherwise might inspire others to similar actions.
Wikipedia.org
Robert Latimer denied day parole
By Rob Shaw - The Victoria Times-Colonist
December 5, 2007
Robert Latimer, the
Saskatchewan farmer who killed his severely disabled daughter in
1993 and sparked a national debate on euthanasia, was denied day
parole from the minimum security William Head Institution
outside Victoria Wednesday.
A three-member National Parole Board panel told
Mr. Latimer they were “struck” that he had failed to develop any
insight into his crime during his seven years in prison.
“We were left with the feeling you have not
developed the kind of sufficient insight and understanding of your
actions,” said Kelly-Ann Speck, one of the members of the
panel.
The board recommended Mr. Latimer take
counselling and participate in prison programmes to better
understand his actions and learn not externalize blame to the
legal system and government.
The decision means Mr. Latimer, 54, will not be
able to spend days in the community and nights in a halfway house.
According to Evelyn Blair of the National
Parole Board, Mr. Latimer likely will not have another opportunity
at parole for two years.
Robert Latimer killed his daughter Tracy
Latimer in 1993 by placing the 12-year-old in a truck on the
family farm in Wilkie, Sask., and pumping exhaust into the vehicle
until she died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
He contended it was an act of mercy because
Tracy Latimer was severely disabled and suffered from cerebral
palsy caused by brain damage at birth. She was a bed-bound
quadriplegic who could not speak or feed herself and suffered from
a twisted spine, malnutrition, seizures and chronic vomiting.
Robert Latimer had requested he be paroled in
Ottawa, where he said he wanted to continue to press the federal
government and the courts to more fully explain a 2001 Supreme
Court ruling that upheld his conviction.
Robert Latimer has long rejected the court’s
suggestion he could have used different pain medication instead of
killing his daughter. No such medication existed, he contends,
because pain relief drugs reacted with his daughter’s anti-seizure
medication.
When asked why he did not ask to be paroled
near his wife Laura and their three children in Saskatchewan, Mr.
Latimer said he wanted to be in Ottawa for advocacy work and that
he hoped to spare his family the constant media attention of his
release.
Wednesday was Mr. Latimer’s first appearance
before a parole board panel. His institutional parole officer said
he presented a low risk to the community, but would need
counselling to take responsibility for his actions.
The parole officer recommended he be granted
day parole. That the parole board eventually denied this request
is unusual — about 80% of the time the board follows the parole
officer’s recommendations, said a board spokesperson.
Mr. Latimer was at times uncooperative at the
hearing, either refusing to answer questions or simply talking
about something else until a board member asked the question again.
Mr. Latimer declined an assistant for the proceedings and chose to
represent himself. Neither his wife nor his sons attended.
Mr. Latimer also appeared confused and tired.
Sitting with his back to the public gallery in a multipurpose room
at the prison, he was unable to answer simple questions or even
cite the exact date he killed his daughter and how he felt while
committing the murder.
His thoughts and feelings were private, he said,
adding that his case had been “exploited by the entire
country.”
When a board member asked Mr. Latimer if he was
a risk to kill again in a similar situation, he only said it was
unlikely that such a situation would occur again.
He remained unapologetic and angry at the legal
system.
“The laws are not as important as Tracy was,”
he said.
“I still feel don’t feel guilty because I
still feel it was the best thing to do,” Mr. Latimer told the
board earlier.
The three-member parole panel — Ms. Speck,
Maryam Majedi and Ben Andersen — cited Mr. Latimer’s belief that
his actions were above the law as one reason for denying him
parole.
“If a person has no remorse, if they don’t
feel they’ve done anything wrong, often what goes hand in hand
with that is they don’t feel like they need to change anything,”
said Patrick Storey, National Parole Board spokesman.
“Parole is all about change. The parole
board wants to see evidence of some significant lasting change
from the man who committed the offence to the man who appears
before them today. In this case, the lack of remorse is perhaps
linked to what the parole board felt was a lack of change.”
Mr. Latimer’s full parole date is Dec. 8, 2010.
He has been in prison since December, 2001, but has also
accumulated time served during a seven-year journey through the
legal system that involved multiple trials, sentences and appeals.
Mr. Latimer’s case sparked a vigorous national
debate on what extent, if any, euthanasia could be justified.
Supporters across the country signed petitions urging the
government to grant Robert Latimer clemency and raised more than
$250,000 for his family. Others, including many disabled rights
groups, condemned his actions.
“We’re pleased with the decision,” said
Rory Summers, president of the B.C. Association for Community
Living, which supports people with development disabilities.
Mr. Summers and BCACL executive director
Laney Bryenton were two of the only people in the public gallery
for the hearing other than corrections staff and 18 journalists.
“Coming in today we assumed, I guess, he was
going to get parole,” said Laney Bryenton. “But what we saw
was such a profound lack of remorse for his actions, that it was
deeply disturbing to both of us.”
The Saskatchewan farmer’s journey through the
Canadian legal system was long and complicated.
Robert Latimer was convicted of second-degree
murder on Nov. 16, 1994, and sentenced to life with no eligibility
for parole for 10 years. He lost his first appeal on July 18,
1995. He was given a second trial amid allegations of jury
tampering, where he was again convicted of second-degree murder.
But this time a Saskatchewan judge exempted him from the minimum
sentence and instead handed him a lesser two-year sentence — one
year of house arrest and one year in jail.
Robert Latimer appealed to the Supreme Court,
which in 2001 not only upheld his conviction but also changed his
sentence to the minimum 10 years without parole required under
Canadian law.
The Supreme Court also rejected Robert
Latimer’s bid to have the case re-opened in 2002, and he has since
refused to formally apply to the government for clemency out of
protest at his treatment.
Mr. Latimer started his prison term in 2001 at
the federal Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert, where his
wife said he ran the 512-hectare family farm using a calculator
and a telephone behind bars. He was later sent to the medium-security
Bowden Institution in Innisfail, Alta., before being transferred
to the minimum-security William Head Institution Oct. 9, 2003.
Once settled in William Head, Mr. Latimer
studied to become an electrician and stayed mostly out of trouble,
said his parole officer. William Head is well known for its
community-based rehabilitation and work programs. Mr. Latimer has
been staying in a five-bedroom bungalow where inmates are allowed
to cook for themselves and live in relative independence.
Cruel &
unusual': The law and Latimer
Martin O'Malley & Owen Wood,
CBC News Online
December 17, 2003
Robert Latimer, a
farmer working a spread in Saskatchewan northwest of Saskatoon,
killed his 12-year-old daughter Tracy on October 24, 1993. There
has never been any doubt about this.
Latimer told police
he did it. He said he loved his daughter and could not bear to
watch her suffer from a severe form of cerebral palsy. So he
placed her in the cab of his Chevy pickup, ran a hose from the
exhaust to the cab, climbed into the box of the truck, sat on a
tire and watched her die.
Tracy was a 40-pound
quadriplegic, a 12-year-old who functioned at the level of a
three-month-old. She had been repeatedly operated on and at the
time of her murder was due for more surgery, this time to remove
a thigh bone. She could not walk, talk or feed herself, though
she responded to affection and occasionally smiled. Tracy was in
constant, excruciating pain yet, for reasons not entirely clear,
could not be treated with a pain-killer stronger than Tylenol.
On
November 4, 1993, Latimer was charged with first-degree murder.
A year later, he was convicted of second-degree murder.
End of story?
No.
Over seven years
later, January 18th 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada eventually
upheld his conviction and life sentence.
The issues arising
from the Latimer case are momentous. Should courts abide by the
letter or the spirit of the law? Would a decision favourable to
Latimer legalize euthanasia, mercy killing? Would it put the
disabled in danger? Would it mean the end of mandatory minimum
sentences for convicted persons
The killing of Tracy
Latimer has been called an act of "compassionate homicide."
Others warn that leniency for Latimer, by means of a
constitutional exception, would have shown that the disabled are
regarded as second-class citizens.
Following his first
conviction, the Latimer case became horrendously complex. The
Supreme Court ordered a new trial when it was learned that the
RCMP, acting on orders from the Crown, had possibly tainted the
case by questioning potential jurors on their views on religion,
abortion and mercy killing.
Latimer stood trial
again in October, 1997. A month later he was convicted, again,
of second-degree murder.
The jury recommended
he be eligible for parole after a year, even though the minimum
sentence for second-degree murder is 25 years with no chance of
parole for 10 years. (Automatic minimum sentences for first- and
second-degree murder have been mandatory since 1976, as a
trade-off for the abolition of capital punishment.)
New legal ground was
broken in December, 1997, when Justice Ted Noble – trying to
distinguish between mercy killing and cold-blooded murder –
granted Latimer a constitutional exemption from the minimum
sentence for second-degree murder. He explained that, for
Latimer, the minimum sentence would constitute "cruel and
unusual punishment."
Noble carefully
detailed the reasons for his decision, anticipating the
controversy it would provoke – and the likelihood it would be
appealed. He said the law "recognizes that the moral culpability
or the moral blameworthiness of murder can vary from one
convicted offender to another." He called Tracy Latimer's murder
a "rare act of homicide that was committed for caring and
altruistic reasons. That is why for want of a better term this
is called compassionate homicide."
Noble also described
Latimer's relationship with Tracy as "that of a loving and
protective parent" who wanted to end his daughter's suffering.
Noble said Latimer "is not a threat to society, nor does he
require any rehabilitation."
The Crown argued
that Tracy was a relatively cheerful child, and her rights were
violated by being killed by her father. According to the Crown
brief presented at Latimer's second trial:
"Tracy enjoyed
outings, one of which was to the circus, where she smiled when
the horses went by. She also responded to visits by her family,
smiling and looking happy to see them.
"There is no dispute
that through her life, Tracy at times suffered considerable
pain. As well, the quality of her life was limited by her severe
disability. But the pain she suffered was not unremitting, and
her life had value and quality."
Nearly a year later,
in November, 1998, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal overturned
Noble's ruling, imposing the mandatory minimum sentence: 25
years, with no parole before 10 years.
Critics of leniency
for Latimer worried that a Supreme Court decision soft on
Latimer would send a signal to many convicted murderers that
they, too, may be victims of "cruel and unusual punishment" and
are eligible for constitutional exceptions to reduce their
mandatory minimum sentences.
"I think the
(Supreme Court) could be opening a Pandora's box," University of
Saskatchewan law professor Sanjeev Anand told Kirk Makin,
justice reporter for The Globe and Mail. "If the court is
very lax … and says you can make constitutional exemptions
whenever you want to, it would also encourage Parliament to
never create another mandatory minimum sentence."
After the Supreme
Court ruling, Latimer's only remaining option is a plea to
Ottawa for a rare federal pardon.
Unusual as the
Latimer case is, there are related cases, such as battered women
who have killed their batterers – often their husbands – and
received leniency from the courts. Special legislation is being
considered for victims who kill their oppressors, based on
self-defence. It’s more difficult when the victim, like Tracy
Latimer, is so clearly blameless.
An old legal maxim
is – "Hard cases make bad law." Whether this applies to the case
of Robert Latimer remains to be seen.
Timeline
Oct. 24, 1993
Latimer kills his daughter Tracy by piping carbon monoxide into
his truck.
Nov. 16, 1994
Jury convicts Latimer of second-degree murder.
July 18, 1995
Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decides 2-1 to uphold Latimer
conviction.
Oct. 25, 1995
Revelation that prosecutor interfered with jury by questioning
them about religion, abortion and mercy killing.
Nov. 27, 1996
Supreme Court of Canada hears Latimer case.
Feb. 6, 1997
Supreme Court orders new trial due to jury interference, but
upholds Latimer's confession.
Oct. 27, 1997
Latimer's second trial begins.
Nov. 5, 1997
Jury finds Latimer guilty of second-degree murder and recommends
he be eligible for parole after one year.
Dec. 1, 1997
Judge Ted Noble gives Latimer "constitutional exemption", orders
sentence of less than two years, with one to be spent in the
community.
Nov. 23, 1998
Saskatchewan Court of Appeal sets aside constitutional exemption
and upholds mandatory sentence of at least 10 years.
Feb. 1999
Latimer appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada.
May 6, 1999
Supreme Court announced it will hear an appeal of Latimer's
sentence for 1993 killing of his seriously disabled daughter.
June 14, 2000
Supreme Court hears appeal.
Jan. 18, 2001
Supreme Court upholds life sentence, with no parole for 10 years.
Dec. 17, 2003
Speaking more than 10 years after he ran a hose from the exhaust
to the cab of his pickup truck and put his daughter Tracy inside
to die, Latimer says he still believes he did the right thing.
Dec. 5, 2007
Latimer's bid for day parole is denied after a National Parole
Board hearing at a prison in Victoria. The three board members,
who took almost an hour to make a decision, said they were struck
by Latimer's lack of insight into the crime he committed, the
CBC's Heather Robinson reported.
Feb. 27, 2008
Latimer's appeal of the National Parole Board decision is
successful. He is to serve day parole in Ottawa.
March 13, 2008
Latimer is released from the Victoria jail. He is granted a four-day
unescorted leave to visit his ailing mother in Saskatchewan before
reporting for day parole in Ottawa on March 17.
