Robert Latimer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Latimer
Born	March 13, 1953
Occupation	Farmer (currently incarcerated)
Spouse	Laura Latimer
Children	Tracy Latimer (deceased), Lindsay Latimer, Brian Latimer, Lee Latimer

Robert William "Bob" Latimer (born March 13, 1953),a Canadian canola and wheat farmer, was convicted of murder for the killing of his daughter Tracy (November 23, 1980-October 24, 1993). This case sparked a national controversy on the definition and ethics of euthanasia, and two Supreme Court decisions, R. v. Latimer (1997), on section 10 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and later R. v. Latimer (2001), on cruel and unusual punishments under section 12 of the Charter.

Contents 1 Farm and family 1.1 Tracy Latimer 2 Tracy's death 3 Murder trials and appeals 4 Prison 5 Public debate 5.1 Support for Latimer 5.2 Support for Latimer's conviction and sentence 6 References 7 Links

[edit] Farm and family

Bob Latimer lived near Wilkie, Saskatchewan, on a 1280-acre wheat and canola farm^[1] with his wife, Laura, and their four children, Tracy, Brian, Lindsay, and Lee.

[edit] Tracy Latimer

Tracy Latimer was born November 23, 1980. An interruption in Tracy's supply of oxygen during the birth caused cerebral palsy.^[2][3] As a result, Tracy was quadriplegic and bedridden much of the time, suffered five to six seizures daily, and was said to have the mental capacity of a three to four month old baby.^[4] In describing Tracy's medical condition, Dr. Anne K. Dzus, the orthopedic surgeon who performed Tracy's surgeries, stated under oath that "She had one of the worst forms of cerebral palsy in that she was totally body involved. Her total body was involved from her head right down to her toes, so all four limbs, her brain, her back, everything was involved so she was as severe as they ... in the classification we have for cerebral palsy."^[5]

Like many children with this type of cerebral palsy,^[6] Tracy underwent several surgeries, including surgery to lengthen tendons and release muscles, and surgery to correct scoliosis. Dr. Dzus said that Tracy recovered well from these surgeries.^[5]

Despite her medical condition, Tracy attended school regularly in Wilkie.^[7] According to Crown brief presented at her trial, "Tracy enjoyed outings, one of which was to the circus, where she smiled when the horses went by. She also responded to visits by her family, smiling and looking happy to see them. There is no dispute that through her life, Tracy at times suffered considerable pain. As well, the quality of her life was limited by her severe disability. But the pain she suffered was not unremitting, and her life had value and quality."^[8]

Around October 12, 1993, Dr. Dzus recommended further surgery to ease the pain in Tracy's dislocated hip.^[9] The surgery was scheduled for November 19, 1993. Dr. Dzus expressed concern about managing postoperative pain, as many pain medications interacted with Tracy's anti-seizure medications. Considering it too intrusive, the Latimers did not wish a feeding tube to be inserted, though according to the Supreme Court judgement it might have allowed more effective pain medication to be administered.^[10] Robert Latimer reported that the family were not aware of any medication other than Tylenol that could be safely administered to Tracy.^[11]

[edit] Tracy's death

On October 24, 1993, Laura Latimer found Tracy dead. She had died under the care of her father while the rest of the family was at church. At first Robert Latimer maintained that Tracy had died in her sleep; however, when confronted by police with autopsy evidence that high levels of carbon monoxide were found in Tracy's blood, Latimer confessed that he had killed her by placing her in his truck and connecting a hose from the truck's exhaust pipe to the cab. He said he had also considered other methods of killing Tracy, including Valium overdose and "shooting her in the head".^[12]

Robert Latimer said his actions were motivated by love for Tracy and a desire to end her pain.^[13] He described the medical treatments Tracy had undergone and was scheduled to undergo as "mutilation and torture". "With the combination of a feeding tube, rods in her back, the leg cut and flopping around and bedsores, how can people say she was a happy little girl?" Latimer asked. ^[14]

[edit] Murder trials and appeals

On November 16, 1994, a jury convicted Latimer of second degree murder. However, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a retrial, because of jury interference as the prosecutor had questioned the jury about religion, abortion, and mercy killing. (See R. v. Latimer (1997) for more information on this decision.) On November 5, 1997, the jury at the second trial found Latimer guilty of second degree murder again.^[8] Although the minimum sentence for second-degree murder is life with no chance of parole until after 10 years, the jury recommended that Latimer be eligible for parole after one year.^[1] Because he believed Latimer was motivated by compassion, Judge Ted Noble argued that a "constitutional exemption" could apply, and sentenced him to two years, one in jail and one under house arrest.^[15]

The Crown appealed the decision because Latimer had not received the minimum sentence for his crime. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled that Latimer would have to serve a life sentence.^[16] Latimer appealed this decision because he was not allowed to argue that he had no choice but to kill Tracy, and a life sentence was cruel and unusual punishment.^[15] The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the life sentence (for details, see R. v. Latimer (2001)).

[edit] Prison

Robert Latimer began serving his sentence on January 18, 2001 and is currently incarcerated at William Head Institution, a minimum-security facility located 30 kilometers west of Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island. While in prison, he completed the first year of carpentry and electrician apprenticeships. He continues to run the farm with the help of a manager. Robert Latimer will be eligible for day parole on December 8, 2007 and full parole on December 8, 2010.^[11]

[edit] Public debate

[edit] Support for Latimer

A poll found that 73% of Canadians believed that Latimer acted out of compassion and should receive a more lenient sentence. The same poll found that 41% believe that mercy killing should not be illegal.^[17] Ethicist Arthur Schafer argued that this was a mercy killing and compassion and common sense dictated a reduced sentence.^[18]

[edit] Support for Latimer's conviction and sentence

Numerous disability rights groups obtained intervenor status in the Latimer's appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, arguing that killing a severely disabled child like Tracy is no different than killing a non-disabled child and should carry the same penalty. To do otherwise, they argued, would devalue the lives of disabled people and increase the risk of more such killings by their caregivers.^[19] Religious groups representing the Roman Catholic church and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada also appeared as intervenors in Latimer's Supreme Court appeal.

[edit] References

[edit] Links

• In depth: Robert Latimer
• RobertLatimer.net
• Latimer Watch: newsletter published by the Council of Canadians with Disabilities