Give killers suicide option, Tory senator says
Most heinous should get rope in their cells, says Pierre-hugues Boisvenu
The country’s decades-old decision to end the use of capital punishment was thrust back into the political spotlight Wednesday after a Conservative senator suggested convicted murderers should be given a rope in their cell and choose whether to die.
Pierre-hugues Boisvenu told reporters Wednesday the most heinous of criminals and “assassins” with no hope of rehabilitation should “have the right to a rope in his cell and make a decision about his or her life.”
Boisvenu made the comments before heading into a weekly caucus meeting when asked about revisiting Canada’s ban on the death penalty. In French, Boisvenu said he wasn’t in favour of the death penalty, and that most criminals should be given a chance. But death should be considered as punishment for murderers such as Clifford Olson, Paul Bernardo or Robert Pickton.
“As a society, I think that is something we should discuss,” he said.
Boisvenu later apologized for his comments. Speaking to reporters outside a Senate committee meeting, he said his words were taken out of context and made to sound like he wanted the death penalty for every murderer in Canadian jails.
“I’m talking about three or four guys,” Boisvenu said.
He said he was not in favour of the death penalty, nor was he or the Conservative government interested in revisiting the ban.
The country’s last execution took place in 1962, 14 years before the death penalty was abolished in 1976. Since then, first-degree murder has carried with it a mandatory life sentence with no eligibility of parole for 25 years.
Conservative Senator Bob Runciman said Boisvenu’s comments were taken out of context and that they were “heat of the moment” comments.
Boisvenu became a staunch victim’s advocate after his daughter, Julie, was kidnapped, raped and murdered in June 2002. The 27-year-old woman had been out celebrating a job promotion in Sherbrooke, Que., when she disappeared. “Sen. Boisvenu and his family have suffered horribly in the past and we understand his emotions in that regard,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in the House of Commons. The comments came hours before a Senate committee was to question two Conservative cabinet ministers about changes to Bill C-10, the government’s omnibus crime bill. Boisvenu sits on the committee.
“What Senator Boisvenu did is against the law. You can’t call on people to kill themselves,” said interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel. “The death penalty debate has been closed in Canada for decades. Why are the Conservatives reopening the whole debate?” the Opposition leader said.
She said Canadians were generally against capital punishment.
However, a 2010 Angus Reid survey of global attitudes on capital punishment found that 62 per cent of Canadians endorsed the death penalty for homicide convictions.