N.S. prosecutor slams parole decision that released and deported U.S.-born convicted killer

A top Nova Scotia prosecutor is questioning a parole board decision allowing the release and deportation of a convicted killer and sexual predator, saying it’s based on “hope over reason.”

Paul Carver, chief Crown attorney for Halifax, secured a rare dangerous offender designation for William Shrubsall in 2001, after proving to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge there was a high risk the American man would commit more violent or sexual crimes.

READ MORE: Kenneth Fenton, man convicted in death of Const. Sarah Beckett, granted limited day parole

Shrubsall was jailed in Canada 18 years ago for a series of Nova Scotia beatings which left some of the young female victims permanently disabled. He had previously been convicted in the beating death of his mother in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

In granting Shrubsall’s release on Nov. 7, the parole board noted the 47-year-old – who has changed his name to Ethan Simon Templar MacLeod – had behaved well, had completed programs to reduce his violence, had been attending regular psychological counselling and had been developing a plan for his release into the community.

However, it also said these factors “would not have been enough” for his release without the board members’ knowledge he would be deported to Niagara County in upstate New York to “face many more years of incarceration.”

2:45 Montreal family of murder victim fighting for justice

• Montreal family of murder victim fighting for justice
• Cyntoia Brown granted full clemency from life sentence
• Dellen Millard handed third consecutive life sentence for murdering his father
• Parole Board of Canada details reasoning behind conditions on high-risk offender in Kingston
• Man charged in murder of dad at California campground

Previous Video

Next Video

According to court records, Shrubsall faced a sentence of between two-and-one-third to seven years in jail for prior sexual abuse convictions in Niagara County, and the district attorney has told the Buffalo News she also intended to prosecute him for fleeing justice 23 years ago.