Paul Bernardo asks for parole
After 25 years in prison for murders and sex assaults, he pleads for release
Paul Bernardo, whose name became synonymous with sadistic sexual perversion, is expected to plead today for his release by arguing he has done what he could to improve himself during his 25 years in prison, mostly in solitary confinement.
Designated a dangerous offender, Bernardo, 54, became eligible for parole in February but has so far not been allowed beyond the confines of his maximum security prison in eastern Ontario.
Bernardo’s parole hearing at the Bath Institution is expected to attract numerous observers, most of whom will have to watch via a video link. The hearing also comes almost two weeks after the prosecution withdrew a weapon-possession charge against him related to the discovery of a screw attached to a ballpoint pen handle in his cell.
Defence lawyer Fergus (Chip) O’Connor did not respond Tuesday to a request to discuss his client’s bid for freedom. However, at the aborted weapon trial this month, he outlined the pitch Bernardo was expected to make to the National Parole Board panel.
“He’s as horrified as you and I are at what he did,” O’Connor said.
“I expect that he will take full responsibility, express remorse, and he appears to be sincere in that.”
While isolation has limited available programming, Bernardo has made a “determined effort not to make up for what he’s done — for that can never be done — but to improve himself” and has been of good behaviour in “very hard conditions” of confinement, O’Connor said.
Bernardo’s crimes over several years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, some of which he videotaped, sparked widespread terror and revulsion.
Among them, Bernardo and his then-wife Karla Homolka kidnapped, tortured and killed Leslie Mahaffy, 14, of Burlington, Ont., in June 1991 at their home in Port Dalhousie, Ont., before dismembering her body, encasing her remains in concrete and dumping them in a nearby lake. Dubbed the “Scarborough rapist,” Bernardo also tortured and killed Kristen French, 15, of St. Catharines, Ont., in April 1992 after keeping her captive for three days.
Bernardo was convicted in 1995 of the first-degree murders of the two teens and numerous sexual assaults. He was given life without parole eligibility until he had served 25 years since his arrest in early 1993.
Tim Danson, long-time lawyer for the girls’ families, would not discuss Bernardo’s parole bid.
“For a variety of very sensitive reasons, neither I nor the families will be making any public comments until after the hearing,” Danson said on Tuesday.
O’Connor conceded his client was reviled for his “horrific crimes.” Still, he has “loving parents” who visit him regularly, and the parole board will take into consideration his behaviour in prison and whether he still poses a danger to the community, the lawyer said.
“Their decision will be not how much he should suffer, but does he present a risk,” O’Connor said. “The issue is not just deserts; the issue is risk.”
O’Connor has also noted that Bernardo was realistic about his prospects of gaining parole.
The odds are against Bernardo’s early release given his crimes.
Overall, authorities say only three in 10 inmates win parole on first try.