The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is celebrating a ruling today by the National Parole Board’s Appeal Division granting day parole to Robert Latimer.
BCCLA Secretary John Dixon: “Rarely in all my experience in fighting lawsuits have I seen such a complete and unqualified win from an appellate body. It was time for Robert Latimer and his family to have an uptick in their lives and this is it.”
Today’s decision overturns a prior National Parole Board panel decision that denied Mr. Latimer day parole on the basis that he posed a risk to re-offend (despite no evidence to support this finding). The prior panel also failed to consider the reasons of courts that sentenced Mr. Latimer. Nor did the prior panel consider supervisory conditions that could address even speculative concerns regarding any risk to reoffend.
The Appeal Division’s decision closely mirrors the submission made by Mr. Latimer’s legal counsel, Jason Gratl, who is also President of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
According to the Appeal Division, Mr. Latimer does “not present an undue risk to reoffend and [your] release on day parole will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into the community as a law-abiding citizen.”
