WATCH: Paul Bernardo, who was convicted 20 years ago of murdering teenagers Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, is now eligible for day parole. As Mike Drolet reports, if the Conservatives have their way, murderers like Bernardo will never get any taste of freedom.
TORONTO – Paul Bernardo, known as Canada’s most notorious murderer and rapist, has applied for day parole in the Toronto area.
Notices from Correctional Service Canada went out last week to at least one of his victims, advising her of his application.
Bernardo was sentenced to life in prison without parole for at least 25 years in 1995, and was declared a dangerous offender for a number of offences, including two first-degree murders of 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy and 15-year-old Kristen French, and two aggravated sexual assaults.
He later confessed to raping 14 other women.
Dangerous offenders in Canada can apply for day parole three years before their full parole eligibility date or after three years, whichever is greater.
Day parole also means the offender must report back to jail or a half-way house at night.
Tim Danson, the lawyer for the families of Bernardo’s murder victims, says he has told the families that there is no chance Bernardo will ever see the outside world again.
According to the Toronto Star, one of Bernardo’s rape victims, who never got to testify against her attacker, expressed shock over the parole application.
A letter from correctional services has instructed her to submit an impact statement by July 14 if she wants it to be included in the pre-parole process.
With a file from The Canadian Press
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