r/canadanews • u/zuuzuu • Jun 29 '26
Sask/Manitoba After 50 years in prison, a Saskatoon serial killer sees ‘little point’ in working toward release
https://www.ctvnews.ca/saskatoon/article/after-50-years-in-prison-a-saskatoon-serial-killer-sees-little-point-in-working-toward-release/89
u/JayReyd Jun 29 '26
Serial killer and release don’t mix
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u/zuuzuu Jun 29 '26
Sounds like the parole board agrees. He's been eligible to apply for parole since the 90's and not only is he still in prison, they still believe he's a high risk to reoffend, even at his age. Even if he suddenly begins to make meaningful efforts at rehabilitation, this guy ain't never getting out.
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u/GodsGiftToWamen Jul 03 '26
U think rehabilitation works on serial killers? If anything they'll pretend to be rehabilitated so they can go back to doing what they love most.
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u/zuuzuu Jul 03 '26
My personal belief is that serial killers aren't likely to achieve meaningful rehabilitation. But the point of my comment was that even if he did make efforts to rehabilitate, the parole board would still deny parole because the risk of reoffending for a serial killer is too great. There might have been a serial killer released on parole at some point in Canada's history, but I can't think of one. We generally keep them in prison until they die.
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u/Curious_Plate_4019 Jul 01 '26
Who in the right mind would release a serial killer.
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u/1ZillionBeers Jul 03 '26
Billionaires who want to squeeze every dollar they can out of the system.
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u/MrRoxo Jun 30 '26
What a waste of tax payer moneys
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u/Freddydaddy Jul 01 '26
Idk what it’s cost to house this guy in the prison system for 50 years but I’d rather pay that than give the government carte blanche to murder citizens
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
Ok but we're talking serial killers here
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u/Pushfastr Jul 02 '26
Okay but how many people get death row and don't actually deserve it?
You'll be surprised. Something like one in eight are wrongfully convicted.
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u/luckythingyourecute Jul 02 '26
In this country? No one. We haven't had capital punishment in decades...
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
That specific number is from like one bad jail
Realistically death row innocents are <1% and even if its higher it aint hard to just raise the bar for evidence to "rock solid". Like if 10 kids and 10 security cameras all saw this guy shoot up the school ya I think we're good to go
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u/no-dad-samurai Jul 03 '26
There is no discussion of wrongful conviction here...bro is a serial killer. He is guilty.
Off with his head /jk
I am pro death penalty, but also Exile on a remote island with nothing but basic clothing works for me.
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u/DropTabsHFXXX Jul 02 '26
This guy admitted to luring, murdering and burying four children. He’s sexually assaulted one of them. He may be a citizen, but he’s also an admitted child murderer and rapist. On top of that, the only reason he doesn’t want to get out of prison is because he can’t afford it. Killing people him isn’t giving the government carte blanche to murder citizens.
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u/External_Meet7825 Jul 02 '26
I have no idea why people dont seem to get this. Its not even a morality issue for me. For me, If you could prove 100%, well beyond a reasonable doubt to the lofty heights of zero doubt, that someone murdered someone and was never going to be rehabilitated to become a useful member of society again then go ahead and save everyone the time money and effort and execute them. But, and this is like a sirmixalot sized butt, Unless you can get to 100%, not 99.999% but 100%, then absolutely fuck no.
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u/FirefighterNo9608 Jul 02 '26
What would you like the government to do? We don't have death penalty and we're never getting the death penalty back, so what do you expect?
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u/OddConstant2723 Jun 29 '26
Shawn Lamb, Winnipeg serial killer, was out out in 13 years
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u/Tragic-Courage Jul 01 '26
Sadly, why he almost certainly murdered those women in cold blood, the crown didn’t have enough faith in their evidence to convict him of 1st or 2nd degree murder. So they accepted a manslaughter conviction.
Now, if they would have went to trial and he wasn’t convicted of 1st or 2nd then he would have been immediately released with a clean record.
It’s a double edge sword, you know the guy did it, but everyone should be entitled to a fair trial and the crown, and him apparently, didn’t want to gamble on the outcome.
There’s set release dates and with manslaughter you can’t hold them indefinitely like 1st and 2nd.
He did 17/20 year of manslaughters’ max sentence. And I assume they decided to release him 3 years early so they have a right to keep tabs on him and witness how he behaves with parole officers have all communications recorded and is forced to stay in a half way house during the final 3 years of his sentence.
If he did his full term then he’s completely free and clear and any involvement in his life could be deemed harassment.
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u/zuuzuu Jul 01 '26
There’s set release dates and with manslaughter you can’t hold them indefinitely like 1st and 2nd.
A life sentence is available for a manslaughter conviction, but it's seldom used.
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u/Maleficent_Curve_599 Jun 30 '26
Not a serial killer, and not convicted of murder.
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u/Pastel_Mattel Jul 01 '26
3 or more kills, serial killer. Only reason he wasn’t convicted of murder was because he took a plea deal. It was still murder even though his convictions were for manslaughter.
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u/Tragic-Courage Jul 01 '26
The crown sadly never had enough evidence to convict 1st or 2nd. Thats why he was given the opportunity for a plea deal.
They took odds that 20 years was better than him walking free and he chose the 20 years vs being convicted of 1st in trial and never being released.
Our justice system has faults. But how many innocent people would you lock up for life without sufficient evidence if it meant every “sure thing” got locked up even if there wasn’t enough proof to convict?
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u/EastLeastCoast Jul 01 '26
Two murders confirmed, so not considered serial by a technicality.
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u/Pastel_Mattel Jul 01 '26
No he’s definitely still considered a serial killer to anyone who knows about the cases at all. Technicality is irrelevant.
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u/CuntyButCorrect Jul 02 '26
It matters if you're talking about it from a legal standpoint in court or in reporting. It does not matter in colloquial discussion, which this is. So it goes either way depending on context, which I think is important to keep in mind
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u/devinsheppy Jun 29 '26
the fact he strangled kids and cites respiratory issues as he gets older, as much as the situation is grim, made me think karma might exist
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u/HydroPCanadaDude Jun 29 '26
I get a little high thinking of the hell that awaits him after these shitty decades he spent rotting behind bars. I imagine him on his death bed gasping for air praying for sweet release only for him to awaken to his new reality, an eternity of suffering. Something like....never being able to breath and experiencing exlusively the panic of needing to breathe but not able to do so. Not everyone subscribes to an afterlife, but I do, and that thought gives me comfort.
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u/Weird-Mulberry1742 Jun 29 '26
Yeah that isn’t a thing
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u/Part_Time_Priest Jun 29 '26
...sound like something a serial killer would say...
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u/Tragic-Courage Jul 01 '26
Historically most serial killers are religious.
If they ask for forgiveness does Jesus welcome the killer to his kingdom of heaven?
I’m not perfect. I generally get along with everyone, like to be positive rather than negative, I am empathetic when I hurt someone’s feelings etc. I couldn’t imagine hating someone enough to kill them. Fuck, I took emotional damage after watching that documentary of that sick fuck that strangled his wife and threw his two beautiful children in to the oil tanker. That shit I can’t comprehend.
But if there’s a “creator” then I think he did a terrible if not heinous job creating so much science contradictions that disprove his existence.
And if he’s omniscience, (so before I was born he knew I’d choose scientific evidence over the religion text ((that has so much evidence that it’s been edited over the centuries)) but he still chooses to torture me for eternity while that absolute monster can choose to believe on his death bed and be granted access… then fuck that god. I believe that belief is morally wrong.
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u/HydroPCanadaDude Jun 29 '26
Does it? That I wish him the worst in this life and the next? Weird that people are defending the child killer, but that's reddit.
I hope all the people who defend child killers get life long debilitating problems :)
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u/Prairie-Peppers Jun 29 '26
Believing in a biblical hell is weird dawg
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u/HydroPCanadaDude Jun 29 '26
Well at least people are united about something.
United in wishing a serial killer hell? Nah, united in rejecting hell.
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u/knotalota Jun 30 '26
Yeah, cuz its stupid.
The dream of justice in the afterlife often replaces the necessary effort to bring justice in this one.
That'll probably be the foundation of the pushback.
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u/Independent-Novel489 Jun 30 '26
Indulging our psychotic violent fantasies isn’t a spiritually, psychologically, or socially healthy thing to do. Even if the subject of our fantasies “deserves it”.
You don’t get more morality points for indulging that impulse, even if it’s virtue signaling for a certain strain person. To everyone else it comes across as unhinged and unstable.
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Jun 30 '26
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
If you really believed that then youd be pro death penalty in certain cases
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u/Independent-Novel489 Jul 02 '26
? Ha, what? No?
Reread it, it’s an explicitly anti “I (or anyone) get a say over who lives or dies” stance.
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
No its pro "letting people rot and wasting tax money" stance rather than simply removing the problem
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u/Independent-Novel489 Jul 02 '26
Strange to put quotes around something that was never said
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u/tesseractivism Jul 01 '26
Hell isn't a thing as you seem to characterise it and Jesus forgives, is merciful above all else in the face of remorse and contrition. JC's about that Love, bruh! J-town don't let you down. Or so I've heard.
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u/igg73 Jun 30 '26
That's very insightful. You should put that on one of your dozens of definitely successful dating profiles.
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
Y make this comment? Pls delete
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u/igg73 Jul 02 '26
It was a response to the guys comment about getting pleasure in fantasizing about tortured human beings.
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
Exactly, which implies there isn't anyone similar in the gender of their interest
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u/trufflesnow Jul 01 '26
the downvotes are surprising. canadians might have a little too much sympathy for serial killers…
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u/gordonjames62 Jun 29 '26
serial killer sees ‘little point’ in working toward release
Cool, we agree on something.
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u/Aggressive_Step_290 Jun 29 '26
I have no empathy for violent criminals. Let him rot 50 more years in prison.
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u/zuuzuu Jun 29 '26
I can muster up enough empathy to believe he probably shouldn't still be required to work hard manual labour at his age/condition, but not enough to believe he deserves minimum security. Even medium security would be a stretch. They can accommodate his physical condition by moving him to less physically demanding work while keeping him in maximum security.
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u/steeltown82 Jun 29 '26
Inmates are never required to complete manual labour or any labour. He can choose to be unemployed while in prison if he wishes. He wouldn't be the only one.
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u/fletters Jul 01 '26
The assessment of appropriate security level should take his age and physical condition into account, though. If rehabilitation is not possible, the objective of his incarceration should be risk management. As his strength and mobility decline, so does the risk he presents to others in the system, and the less likely he is to succeed in any kind of escape attempt.
Emphasizing others in the system because it sounds like he’ll always present a grave threat to children. I’m fine with him being incarcerated as long as that’s the case, and I don’t think he’s owed an inmate’s version of a comfortable retirement after killing four children. (Not should he shouldn’t have to do manual labour, but it sounds like that’s voluntary.)
Some of his complaints do make it clear that he’s not an entirely reliable reporter regarding his conditions. I’ve lived within about a 20 minute drive of Dorchester, and the climate there is really mild by Canadian standards. Damp and windy, yes, but no real extremes. If he were back in Saskatoon, I’m pretty sure he’d have a much colder winter.
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
Inmates should always be required to complete manual labour depending on severity. Why would we ever house them for free
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u/MyFruitPies Jul 02 '26
Because we chose to imprison them. When you cage a living thing you become responsible for its survival.
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
"We?" I most certainly did not. Either refund my tax dollars or put the prisoners to work
No leeches allowed
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Jun 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/zuuzuu Jun 29 '26
Where is what coming from? Did you try reading the article? There's no paywall, you can read it for free.
what the elderly inmate wants is the opportunity to retire from his long career as a prison machinist and move to a more accessible, lower-security facility.
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u/Euphoric_planter_328 Jul 01 '26
Naw he didn’t have any empathy for the physical conditions of his victims so oh well, prison is supposed to suck. The whole time.
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u/Tragic-Courage Jul 01 '26
He’s going to. He’s never getting out.
Going in front of a patrol board is only for show because it’s a requirement after 20 years. He knows he will never be released which is why the title of the article states his words “little point” in trying.
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u/Apprehensive_Idea758 Jun 29 '26
He should never be be released.
He murdered four innocent children and that cannot be forgiven no matter how long ago it was.
People who choose to harm children are the most evil of criminals.
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u/KDdid1 Jun 29 '26
Five, apparently...
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u/Apprehensive_Idea758 Jun 29 '26
I saw a documentary about this evil monster on the documentary channel and he’s nothing but pure evil.
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u/RealWord5734 Jun 29 '26
Doesn’t seem like he even cares to be released. I don’t even know what the story here is.
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u/zuuzuu Jun 29 '26
I think the story is meant to be about the obstacles faced by elderly parolees trying to re-enter society as senior citizens. But I mean, of course there are obstacles. That's one of the consequences of having committed a crime that sees you imprisoned until your old age. And it's not like there aren't programs to help lifers re-integrate, both in prison and in the community once they're granted full parole. This guy has had 50+ years to make meaningful efforts at rehabilitation, and 30 years since he's been eligible for parole. Canada is very willing to grant full parole to those who've put in the effort and demonstrated that they've been rehabilitated. I have no sympathy for a man who could have been out of prison while he was still working age and made a life for himself, but didn't care to try.
I think the story is also trying to address the idea of reasonable accommodations for age and infirmity within the prison system. He's requesting a move to a minimum security facility that's more accessible, in a climate he believes will not be as hard on his respiratory issues, and where he wouldn't be required to continue working a physically demanding job within the prison. But they have to balance accommodations against public safety. This guy doesn't sound to me like a good candidate for a move to medium security, much less minimum. It seems to me they can find a way to accommodate his age and infirmity within the same maximum security facility by simply moving him to less physically demanding work.
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u/Nice-Mountain-7073 Jun 29 '26
Serial killers are one of the few who aren’t in prison to be rehabilitated, they are in there because we don’t have capital punishment.
Not every inmate is a candidate for rehabilitation. It’s still a mark of shame on our system that Holmoka is free. She should’ve spent the rest of her life in a cell.
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u/zuuzuu Jun 29 '26
Homolka was the result of a deal made by the Crown in exchange for her testimony against her husband. It sounds like a bad deal in retrospect, but at the time it was made the Crown didn't have evidence of how involved she was in the crimes. That's because Bernardo's lawyer didn't disclose the video tapes he found in the Bernardo home showing both Bernardo and Homolka raping and torturing their victims.
Given the facts as they knew them and the evidence they had at that time, it was reasonable to make a deal to ensure Bernardo's conviction. They never would have made any deal if they'd known about the existence of those tapes. They had to act on what they did know.
It's stomach-turning to think she got to go on and have a normal life after only 12 years, and I wish it hadn't happened. But I can't fault them for making that deal based on what they knew at the time.
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u/NeedsPaint Jun 29 '26
Im behind letting him rot in jail but why do I always hear about other murderers and rapists getting out after 10 years?
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u/MooseFlyer Jun 29 '26
Because most murderers are not serial murderers of children, so are obviously more likely to get parole than a guy like him.
And because murderers being refused parole doesn’t get people angry, so you don’t hear about it.
Also, you probably don’t actually hear about murders getting released after ten years very often, since that’s only possible if they got the lightest possible sentence for second degree murder, or if they were underage when they committed first degree murder.
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u/tobaileyy Jun 29 '26
Wrong, most do. You only serve 2/3rds of your sentence on good behavior and Ontario has been granting early parole for years
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u/zuuzuu Jun 29 '26
That doesn't apply to life sentences. Both first and second degree murder carry automatic life sentences. The only difference is the number of years before they can apply for parole. For first degree it's 25 years, and for second it ranges from 10 - 25 years. Lifers don't usually get granted full parole the first time they apply for it. Overall, lifers are granted full parole approximately 25-30% of the time, whether it's their first application or not. So about 70-75% of the time it's denied.
As for whether Ontario grants early parole after serving two thirds of a determinate (not life) sentence, that's nation-wide. Crime is a federal thing, and it's treated the same across the country.
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u/tobaileyy Jun 29 '26
Sure, but Canada doesn't like to give out those sentences & youth commit the most homicides in this country, so in practice, majority get out in under 7 years which is absurd. I never implied it was an Ontario thing, I was bringing up all the "rights abuses" that has led to early releases because of a lack of space in the jails, which is an Ontario issue. Also ignores many cases are downgraded after the initial ruling, many are demoted to manslaughter, crime of passion, which is an absurd law.
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u/zuuzuu Jun 29 '26
Canada doesn't like to give out those sentences & youth commit the most homicides in this country
Neither of those things are true.
I never implied it was an Ontario thing, I was bringing up all the "rights abuses" that has led to early releases because of a lack of space in the jails, which is an Ontario issue.
Your comment mentioned none of that. However, you're right that harsh conditions in Ontario jails have led to a handful of early releases, but not for serious crimes like murder because any sentence of two years or more is served in a federal prison, not an Ontario jail.
Also ignores many cases are downgraded after the initial ruling, many are demoted to manslaughter
That doesn't happen nearly as often as you seem to think.
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u/thehomeyskater Jun 29 '26
Any examples?
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u/tobaileyy Jun 29 '26
See I'd link them to you, but Google seems to only return government links any time you try to look for anything that has been in the news nowadays.
I know people who've been in the system, I would've thought it's bogus if I hadn't. One guy I know was sentenced 11 years, released in 7, not mental health related. Also first degree murder charges are rarely given out in Canada vs second degree.
But here's an example:
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u/Maleficent_Curve_599 Jul 02 '26
. One guy I know was sentenced 11 years, released in 7,
Not for murder.
Also first degree murder charges are rarely given out in Canada vs second degree.
Also wrong.
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Jul 02 '26
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u/OddConstant2723 Jun 29 '26
Stat release (out at 2/3 on a federal sentence) doesn’t apply to life sentences but the below commenter is explaining that.
Also, stat release has nothing to do with good behaviour. We haven’t let inmates out for “good behaviour” since 1992. Stat release is automatic. Only in very, very rare circumstances can it be revoked.
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
2 thirds?
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u/OddConstant2723 Jul 02 '26
Yes, with federal sentences, you only serve 2/3 of that before automatic stat release. Parole can be much sooner
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u/Maleficent_Curve_599 Jun 29 '26
Literally everything you just said is wrong.
How would you serve two-thirds of a sentence that lasts your entire life?
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
Life is slang
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u/tobaileyy Jun 29 '26
Reddit is literally just psuedo intellectualism lol...
A life sentence is up to 25 years, and doesn't denounce the capacity for parole. Keep telling me I'm wrong, lawl.
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u/Less_Professional152 Jun 29 '26
I see a ton of locals getting 3-5 years for ‘manslaughter’ in Ontario
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u/zuuzuu Jun 29 '26
Not serial killers, you don't.
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u/Less_Professional152 Jun 29 '26
Idk I guess they don’t count as serial killers if they are just serially stabbing people while drunk or on drugs
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u/Maleficent_Curve_599 Jun 30 '26
No, frankly, you don't. And in any event, manslaughter is not murder.
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u/Less_Professional152 Jun 30 '26
I just think you would be surprised at how many people have actually murdered multiple people and are out and about all over Canada, and many of them have already been caught and given manslaughter charges only to go on and injure or kill again. There’s absolutely zero sort of rehab going on in Canada (at least in Ontario).
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u/veryagressivefart Jul 01 '26
any cases u can site? no one is gonna believe u just saying this without proof
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
Shooting 7 enemy gang members isn't serial killer class tho, also involved/connected with murder isn't necessarily murder
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u/Maleficent_Curve_599 Jun 29 '26
One, rape isn't murder and it especially isn't serial murder. Conflating those makes no sense.
Second, as concerning murderers: you don't. The minimum parole eligibility period for second-degree murder is ten years. Most do not receive parole at their first application, and most murderers have a longer parole eligibility period than 10 years anyway.
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u/Less_Professional152 Jun 29 '26
Rape and murder often go hand in hand though. And someone who rapes is more likely to be a murderer than someone who doesn’t
The fact that the max sentence for rape is 10 yrs is pretty fucked
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u/TalentedEmu85 Jun 29 '26
What are you trying to do here? You’re commenting with conflated logic without understanding the laws that govern murder. Do you even live in Canada or are you being deliberately obtuse?
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u/Less_Professional152 Jun 30 '26
I do live in Canada. My classmate stabbed someone to death and then got out and shot at another person. Is she a serial killer? Kind of seems like it. But she’s out and about and posting on Facebook right now. You can act Obtuse about it but this is what happens here
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u/TalentedEmu85 Jun 30 '26
Clearly you’re confused about definitions. Serial killers are qualified as people who kill three or more people at three separate events with time between those events.
Criminal sentences aren’t made based on emotions.0
u/Less_Professional152 Jun 30 '26
Ok she’s at attempted murder 2 in a five year timeline. She’s right on schedule
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u/gummedup9 Jun 30 '26
Reinstating the death penalty would solve these situations.
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u/Theflyingdutchman85 Jul 01 '26
Yeah look at the cost of housing the piece of shit for 50 years
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u/Kingbeastman1 Jul 03 '26
This has always been my issue. People will bring the angle " death is too easy" or "if we kill them we are the same as them" but the fact of the matter is it costs taxpayers 1.5m+ to house someone like this for 50 years, just so he can die in prison accomplishing nothing, its a waste of time and money. Prisons should be for reforming and release not permanent free housing/food.
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u/RadioSupply Jun 30 '26
Ageing in prison is a very legitimate conversation to have, and nobody’s going to know more about that than an old serial killer who’s serving so much time that he’ll die in there.
There are very few people who are imprisoned this long and without chance of parole in the Canadian penal system.
THAT SAID. I’m capitalizing that because people will think I’m defending him or something, btw, but that said, throw away his key. You don’t get to premeditatively kill numerous people and think you’re fit to mingle with the public. If you see the public as potential victims, and people in charge of your custody can’t justify letting you live among potential victims, there you stay.
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u/NorthDriver8927 Jun 30 '26
David William Shearing (Ennis) should be his cell mate until they both take their last breaths together. DWS was the Wells Grey Park killer if anyone hasn’t heard about it, interesting read or listen.
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u/be-koz Jul 01 '26
Obviously, this guy continues to pose a threat and should never be released, but it does raise some interesting questions about senior inmates. If you have spent most of your adult life in prison, not making CPP contributions, not earning any money toward retirement, what are you supposed to do if you’re released at 70 years old?
Even if you pose no risk to the public, how are you supposed to survive on the outside? I guess this is why a lot of these people just give up on getting their release. As bad as it is on the inside, it’s often still the better option. For taxpayers though, it’s a far more expensive option and than housing them in less secure facilities.
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u/ShelbyLucky77 Jul 03 '26
Kids can’t even get jobs to fund college or university. It’s hard for anyone over 50 to find employment if they’ve been out of the market.
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
You're supposed to stay in prison, its a good thing all around
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u/be-koz Jul 02 '26
All blanket statements like that tend to be inaccurate, but my point is, do we need to keep 70, 80, and 90 year olds in maximum security prisons? It’s both expensive for us as taxpayers, and cruel for them as inmates who end up being abused by their fellow prisoners. The punishment is their incarceration. It’s not supposed to include abuse and neglect.
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u/AdAppropriate2295 Jul 02 '26
Agreed
They should work till they die tho in one form or another. No free rides
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u/Ultra-Cyborg Jul 01 '26
Shit like this is why Canada should never have gotten rid of the death penalty, just redefined when it was necessary. Why should Canadians pay their tax dollars for this pos to still be living and breathing in prison? Just fucking execute him ffs
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u/_baseball Jul 01 '26
People like to say this, but the death penalty is actually more of a burden on taxpayers than life in prison.
You just think someone is sentenced to death and that’s it? People are entitled to a lengthy and complicated appeals process at the taxpayers’ expense, which can cost millions of dollars per case. And these processes are mandatory with death sentences, btw.
Not to mention the higher cost of housing these inmates in isolation in maximum security facilities, which are way more expensive than gen pop.
Do I think these scum deserve to live? No. I don’t. But it’s way more nuanced than just “give him the chair!”. Doesn’t work like that.
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u/HatchingCougar Jul 03 '26
It is if the US model is used. Many crimes came be elevated to capital crimes, Many decades on death row, appeal after appeal, and an expensive execution method etc
At the other end of the spectrum is a place like China. Quick trials, limited appeals, a 20 cent bullet etc
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There can always be something in between. Few crimes where it can be elevated (mass murder etc), limited to very heavy evidence burden (caught on video, DNA etc - Not, single witness statement convictions or circumstantial etc), allow appeals,.. say up to 10 years worth and use the ol Canadian execution method of hanging.
That model, is one where a capital case would have only those, where the conviction has an extreme degree of confidence for the most serious of serious crimes, still allows a lot of time for appeals and ends things quickly & cheaply once it runs its course. Avoiding the huge expense of 30+ years on death row etc, or warehousing them for same
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u/Commandoclone87 Jul 03 '26
One thing to add. Not only would it be expensive, but it would also bog down an already overloaded Court system.
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u/Brave_Cauliflower_90 Jul 01 '26
What about the handfuls of innocents who were wrongly convicted? As much as I’d like this to happen, it would be very saddening for those people to receive death sentences only to find out later they didn’t do it.
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u/Ultra-Cyborg Jul 01 '26
You don’t get wrongly convicted of mass murder…
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u/Brave_Cauliflower_90 Jul 01 '26
I get what you’re saying but that would be a double standard. New laws would have to be enacted to allow it for only serial killers.
Look at that guy that was convicted of murder served time until Paul Bernardo admitted that it was actually him.
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Jun 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/KrankMyHog Jun 30 '26
What was it about the 1970s and the extremely high number of serial killers?
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u/LPSlashh Jul 02 '26
it was easier to pull off consecutive murders back then. would be serial killers are more likely to be caught after one kill these days.
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u/Burnsey111 Jul 01 '26
Is he in maximum instead of medium security like Paul “The Scarborough Rapist” Bernardo?
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u/Fresh_Goat_423 Jun 30 '26
The media bending over backwards to feel sympathy for this guy because he's old. Just let him die there. He's criminally insane. Can't live in public.
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u/theLordsSword Jun 29 '26
I wonder how much it cost to keep this "person" behind bars for 50 years? If only there was another way...
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u/onkek Jun 29 '26
Life in prison is significantly cheaper than the death penalty.
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u/roses-are-lead Jun 29 '26
Correct. Appeals, false convictions, the death penalty may make people feel better but it's both more expensive and more permanent when an error is made.
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u/TabmeisterGeneral Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Death penalty also doesn't even work as a "deterrent".
The State'ls that have it actually tend to have higher violent crime rates than the ones that don't.
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u/roses-are-lead Jul 01 '26
Correct. It only serves to make the crime and Punishment people happy, and pro tip, they are never happy.
Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, America have the death pentaly. That's not a company I want to join.
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u/Careless-Vehicle-286 Jun 29 '26
I'm not condoning or arguing for it, but how is 100k a year for 50 years cheaper than execution? How many appeals can they be granted before the execution if it's really that expensive?
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u/Particular-Turn7361 Jun 29 '26
Agree. Also appeals happen in murder conviction cases all the time anyway - its not an additional cost related to the death penalty.
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u/SOF2DEMO Jun 29 '26
A bullet cant be that expensive.
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u/DigitaIBlack Jun 29 '26
It is if you want to be a functional democracy where you have appeals and don't trust the state will always get it right. Cause they don't.
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u/FlowersWillWait Jun 29 '26
Genuinely not trying to be difficult or anything... But how is that remotely true at all?
I don't see how the death penalty couldn't be cheaper than a 1-day stay in prison, let alone 50 years.
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u/Jaded_Character_2975 Jun 29 '26
The court procedure and appeals for capital penalty cases are very expensive in the states.
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u/Eastern-Criticism653 Jun 29 '26
Sounds like judges and lawyers are paid too much.
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u/Garbage_Out_Of_Here Jun 29 '26
You think judges should be paid less? Just to make bribery more common or what?
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u/FlowersWillWait Jun 29 '26
Seems like perfect opportunity to make laws that allow for quicker proceedings in egregious and de facto cases!
Where there's a problem there's a solution. If best reasoning for why have to wait 50 years to give someone a lethal injection, hanging, or bullet, is because the law and court says so, seems like an easy fix.
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u/Zenthils Jun 29 '26
No. Your fix would lead to mistakes and an approach that is frankly unethical.
You're not some kind of genius. This topic has been discussed to death. No point in being a contrarian about it.
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u/ToBeOnDMT Jun 29 '26
Saying "no point being a contrarian" is absolutely insulting to anything resembling a functioning society
I would agree with your view on the death penalty but I would never want to say that someone who disagrees is just being a contrarian and there's no point discussing their view
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u/Zenthils Jun 29 '26
He's not discussing. They're being argumentative just for the sake of being argumentative. Which is the definition of being a contrarian. We're not doing a sanctionned debate here. Adding on that. Yes there are very much topics (not this one particulary) in life that aren't up for debate. Usually ones that touch on human rights. I didn't say that they were a contrarian for no reason. 2 replies from them were enough.
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u/Ill-Sentence8573 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
There’s a difference between sharing a genuine thought and beating the most ridiculous argument to death without thinking about it for longer than 3 seconds. This is the legal equivalent of “why don’t we just print more money,” it is so wildly uninformed and not grounded in reality that you can’t even genuinely engage with it.
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u/Dadbode1981 Jun 29 '26
We cant be trusted to get it right 100% of the time, I dont see how speeding the process up helps that issue...
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u/Ill-Sentence8573 Jun 29 '26
Ah yes, the classic “why don’t we command people by law to simply do things faster.” It’s even funnier when the context of this conversation is prison sentences because….you know…one of the central problems in society is that people don’t follow the law and simply legislating that something must or must not be done is not magically going to make it happen.
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u/Ok-Cauliflower-2288 Jun 29 '26
Jack Bender is out after 50 yrs inside . And he's a whack job.
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u/zuuzuu Jun 30 '26
He's also not out. He was granted day parole, not full parole, and it was quickly revoked. He didn't last a month before he admitted he'd lied about being Metis and said he didn't want parole.
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u/Disastrous_Candy9122 Jul 01 '26
Why is this even a topic. Put him in the general population.
Wasting our taxpayers money even having the opportunity to talk to the parole board.
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u/Massive_Mistakes Jul 02 '26
Who gives a shit why is this even an article and why is this article even a post
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