Dear Readers,
Today, I bring you an article verbatim by
Adrienne Batra of the Toronto Sun about victims rights, or should I say lack thereof that we in Ontario, indeed across Canada are suffering with as the rights of criminals once again come first, in the eyes of too many! Specifically, this story is about Jennifer Corsini who survived an attempt on her life and is still suffering. My response is below and, as usual there is room for your comments below that
but please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent !
Jennifer Corsini “You made me do this to you.” Those were among the last words Jennifer Corsini remembers hearing before she woke up from a three-week week coma in 2008. But she recalls perfectly the events leading up to those fateful words, uttered by her then-estranged husband. Jennifer’s story is one on which TV crime dramas are based. But what
she miraculously survived — a brutal attack on her life — wasn’t a work
of fiction. It was Jennifer’s very real story.
It all began when she was 19, working at a KFC outlet in Dundas, Ont. That’s where Jennifer met the man who would become her husband, Bill Gowling, her manager at the time and five years her senior. The two became friends but it was only short-term. Jennifer moved on
as she had bigger aspirations than working in a fast-food restaurant. Fifteen years later, the pair ran into each other by chance in a
Hamilton mall, and, after her initial nervousness passed, it didn’t take
long for
Jennifer and Bill to become a couple and get married in 2003. She had a young son, Anthony, from a previous marriage, whom Bill
loved dearly. Despite being a travelling salesman, he always made time
for Anthony and the two forged a strong bond. Jennifer’s account of the early years of her marriage is for the most part positive. She described it as a “fun marriage” even though Bill was, as she called him, a “weekend alcoholic.” However, as the years went on, there wasn’t a lot of fun anymore.
It started with casual comments Bill would make such as, “I own you”, or “You can’t live without me.” She’s quick to explain that at that time, he had never laid a hand on her, or her son. It was simply the bizarre language he’d use, which she initially brushed off. That is, until Jennifer had an affair with another man in the fall of 2007.She acknowledges this “precipitated the attack, didn’t justify it, but (I) never saw it coming because Bill was never violent.” Around the same time, Bill lost his job, which he didn’t tell her
about. It was only after she discovered some letters from his employer,
saying they were suing him for fraud, that she realised the truth.
Unemployed and drinking more, Bill lost his driver’s licence and
began monitoring Jennifer’s movements and checking her cellphone bills. In mid-2008, they separated. Bill had hired a private investigator to prove her affair, even though she had never denied it. At that point, she just wanted him to “leave her alone.” Now living in Simcoe with her son, Jennifer explained Bill’s behaviour
had become “creepy” — showing up at her house, coming to Anthony’s
games and just “watching her.”
During an incident at her townhouse, Bill told her, “If I can’t have you, nobody’s going to have you.” Though he later apologised, it seemed his sudden remorse and
kindness were meant to dupe her (as she noted in a recent interview with
CityTV’s Avery Haines) into coming back to his house in Turkey Point,
to sign some real estate papers. When she showed up, her hell began. Bill strangled her with a belt, shoved a rag down her throat, poured
Varsol all over her and cut the back of her neck, throat, and chin. He
cut her right hand down to the bone.
Then, in an apparent suicide attempt, Bill cut his own wrists and laid across Jennifer. That’s how the paramedics found them. She’d lost five litres of blood and was barely alive. But she survived. Then came Bill’s court case, which is why Jennifer is now speaking out for victims’ rights. He was originally charged with attempted murder, but was given a plea
deal for aggravated assault and sentenced to 13 years and 10 months,
whittled down to nine years, with time served.
As a result, in June of 2013, the day after Jennifer celebrates her 48th birthday, Bill will be eligible for day parole. Now she fears for her life, telling me, “I’m a sitting duck. I know he’s going to come after me.” She’s hurting financially, too. No longer able to use her right hand
because of the injuries she sustained in the attack, she’s been unable
to work. But her insurer is hounding her to “get out there.” Jennifer noted while Bill sits in prison at taxpayers’ expense, he can get a subsidised education, if he chooses.
But in the wake of his attack on her, she can’t afford to go to school to retrain. As she puts it: “Sometimes I think I would have been better off dead.”
Toronto Police and the OPP making an arrest
my response,
As a Toronto Sun editor points out, "there seems to be so much focus on the rights of criminals, and little on the victims," when D.A. Richards of Toronto says in an op/ed, "I can’t believe how unfair our judicial system is towards the victims
of crime. Jennifer Corsini is a victim in every aspect and continues to
suffer. Clearly unable to work, she is hounded by her disability
insurer, adding unnecessary stress while the low life who injured her
lives the life in Club Fed. Where is the justice here? He should be
paying for his crime — and Jennifer has the right to feel safe. I just
don’t get it.
Having read this, i'm guessing Richards, who refers to a prison as Club Fed has never stepped
foot in one and is basing such opinion on pictures and articles. And I have a hard time believing that anyone who refers to
offenders as scumbags has never had anyone in their life that has made a
mistake. Prisons exist so that sociopaths and psychopaths
who have committed really horrific crimes are not allowed to roam the
streets.
The arrest of child killer Peter Woodcock!
After WWII, my Dad joined the North Toronto Police Force with many of
his childhood friends after they all returned from war and he was
stationed at old #12 at Yonge and Montgomery where, amongst many other
events, he was in on the arrest of Peter Woodcock, the child killer who
murdered little 4-year-old Carole Voyce, amongst others. Dad and his
partner in 1957, both in plain clothes
went to Woodcock's foster mother's home around Yonge and Lawrence and
arrested then 17 year old Woodcock to the loud wailing's of his foster
mother. This psychopath then spent the balance of his life mainly behind bars in the Mental
Health Centre in Penetanguishene. It should come as no shock that young Peter reportedly endured horrific abuse as a small child.
E Block in Kingston Penitentiary, maximum security houses the murderers of Kristen French, Lesley Mahaffy and little Victoria Stafford, amoung others for a reason...the idea is to protect our safety and not to expose the
perpetrators to a lifetime of fear and pain they would no doubt experience in general population. Locked up for 23 hours each day may seem like the only solution is to keep on abusing these people but it is necessary as some of these folks may become victims of one another in prison.
The daily grind?
Without a doubt, there are some hardened criminals inside those walls that
deserve to stay there when a study of maximum security prisons in Canada indicated that 80% were certifiable! Having said that, three hots, a cot, cable TV, high speed internet could be worse! Most of these guys in
the penitentiary live better, more stable lives inside than they ever did on the outside. Unfortunately for the other 20% who are ready to move on with their lives, and have made amends
with themselves and their victim(s); even after having made terrible
mistakes, they are forced to defend themselves in a culture beyond our wildest imagination.
So, what about the offenders who have spent years inside and after discharge, have made something of their lives! Nothing is to be gained by referring to them all as scumbags. Just because someone
hasn't been to jail doesn't automatically make them a good person
either. Sometimes it just means they have never been caught. Looking at the recidivism rates for offenders on different types of release, Corrections Canada found that offenders
on full parole did much better than those on mandatory supervision (now called statutory release). In a study released, the average
quarterly recidivism rate for offenders released on full parole was
1.9%; it was 10.8%
for those released on mandatory supervision.
Life behind bars?
In other words, there was approximately one parole
failure for every five mandatory supervision failures. Of those released on full parole, almost three quarters (72%) completed their sentence
without being returned to federal custody. In addition, 3% had been under supervision for at least
seven years without being readmitted, a period long enough to be considered successful. Of those released on mandatory supervision, 57% completed their sentence without returning to
federal custody. Almost one quarter (24%) had their release revoked for technical violations of
release conditions, and about one fifth (19%) were readmitted for a new offense.
At the risk of sounding like those who whine about "poor prisoners" and have likely never been the
victim of a traumatising crime; especially when the 'perps' were never
caught, unjust punishment of prisoners corrupts us all. Protect society at all costs but treat
prisoners with dignity, even when they are not treating themselves with dignity because the way they are treated is our
behaviour. It is what comes out of us that blesses or poisons us. We
need our prison officials to show understanding, if not kindness when faced with the very dark shadow of
questionable behaviour.
Back on the street?
The fact remains that too many criminals were abused by their parents or by other adults when they
were children. That is often where their lack of empathy came from! But, at the end of the day, we can only be held responsible for what we do! Convicted criminals are responsible for
what
they do and their reward is separation from society. This allows us to
move on with our lives instead of wallowing in anger!
I am presently collecting information to create a book on victim's experiences...and how they have moved forward with their lives after a traumatic event so if you have a personal story to tell, kindly contact me at....
http://t.co/lcslgG7J
or send it to my email address at...
write_stuff_2@hotmail.com
-30-
@write_stuff_2 bio at http:// about.me/brianweller Today's tweet...... If you don't like .. then don't go back!
No comments:
Post a Comment