Drown Me Now…
I’ve written a number of times before about the infamous “bathtub sisters”, aka “Recent Arguments for the Death Penalty by Drowning.” Since this is Canada, of course they will be released early, despite murdering their mother and showing absolutely no remorse. Yes, folks, these two sociopaths will be going to school with you or someone you love very soon, and you will never know who they are. Read the Comments below to get the most recent update on this sick story.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:39 am
‘Bathtub girl’ granted release to attend school — Woman, now 23, and younger sister drowned alcoholic mother
A 23-year-old Mississauga woman is getting released from prison just three years into her 10-year sentence for murdering her mother.
Justice Bruce Duncan today granted her bid to serve the remainder of her sentence for first-degree murder in a Barrie halfway house.
She will be released from the Grand Valley Institution for Women on July 7 and be driven directly to the halfway house where, for all intents and purposes, she’ll be under house arrest.
“Her freedom will be greater but that is a privilege that has earned and should be promoted,” Duncan told a Brampton court today.
The woman and her younger sister, now 22, became known as Canada’s infamous Bathtub Girls during their eight-week Brampton trial in the fall of 2005.
At 16 and 15, they were the first sisters to ever murder their mother in Canada. They’ve been in the unique situation of serving a youth sentence in an adult federal prison for most of the past three years.
Under the conditions imposed today by Duncan, all family visits with her father must be held in Barrie and her younger sister isn’t to be there.
For now, that wouldn’t happen in any event because she remains in custody at Grand Valley.
She must absolutely abstain from all alcohol and recreational drugs. She must remain at the halfway house at all times except for medical reasons or emergencies, volunteer work in the community or for other purposes approved in advance. She must always be escorted while outside the house.
Duncan said to keep the “gifted and intelligent woman with superior intelligence” in prison would be “little more than warehousing” her, something Canada’s youth laws oppose.
She has been accepted at the University of Waterloo for programs in science and engineering with a scholarship for the fall term. For now, she will take courses online using the halfway house computer.
The woman, whose identity remains protected by Canada’s youth laws, smiled when she heard Duncan’s decision.
She was the driving force behind their mother’s murder and held her head under the bathtub water for four minutes.
But she has been a model inmate, and has completed and excelled at all programs and courses available for her inside prison. She has no institutional violations. She tutored other inmates and assisted the prison chaplain. She has also been involved in various work release programs.
And she is now a year further into her rehabilitation from when the same judge rejected her first bid to be released from prison.
“I don’t think it can now be said that it’s too much too soon,” Duncan said.
But it’s important for society to understand she will not be “let out,” Duncan said.
“She will be under a different form of custody,” he said.
“She has completed every available program (in prison),” Duncan said. “In respect of her rehabilitation, there is little or nothing left for her and by extension for society.”
She will be going from a cottage-style living environment in prison to a halfway house where she will be under the restrictions of the home but with greater opportunities for rehabilitation and re-integration into society, he said.
Duncan earlier this year rejected her younger sister’s bid to be released to an Ottawa-area halfway house and attend university there.
He said the convicted killer, now 22, needed more counselling before she can expect to be released. Her identity is also protected because the crime was committed when the women were under the age of 18.
Both women have been eligible for yearly reviews from Duncan under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).
Crown prosecutor Mike Cantlon opposed the woman’s release.
The sisters spent 21 months under house arrest awaiting their trial following their arrests In January 2004.
They have been serving their time at the Grand Valley Institution for Women, a federal women’s prison in Kitchener.
As young teenagers, they murdered their 43-year-old alcoholic mother by drowning her in the bathtub of their Mississauga townhouse on Jan. 18, 2003, after first feeding her booze and Tylenol-3 pills.
They got away with the killing for more than a year until a friend went to police with information that their mother’s death wasn’t a booze-fueled accident but a calculated and planned murder complete with an Oscar-worthy 911 call.
They were convicted of first-degree murder on Dec. 15, 2005 and sentenced on June 30, 2006.
Under Canada’s youth laws, they can only serve a maximum six of their 10-year sentences in a prison or jail.
Both women have been eligible for day parole but neither has ever applied.
They will be eligible to apply for full federal parole Oct. 29, 2009 with their mandatory release after serving two-thirds of her sentence on March 11, 2013.
June 24th, 2009 at 4:27 am
It is pretty outrageous for sure. Even if we set aside the nature of their crime, these two girls should serve their full sentence without wasting anyone’s time (the judge in this instance) or money (”our” money as in the taxpayers’ money).
It seems like we send criminals to jail when they commit a crime, but they often get released early, thanks to the parole system and their so-called good behaviour. Our justice system has lost its purpose. There is absolutely no deterrent for those who commit violent crimes.
I am in favour of rehabilitation programs, but only to be used AFTER the sentence is served, not as an alternative.
In this particular case, a ten-year sentence is already light, considering what they have done. I really don’t care if they are model prisoners. They have been put away for a reason and nothing should change that. I’m not sure what the judge is thinking when he says:”to keep the “gifted and intelligent woman with superior intelligence” in prison would be “little more than warehousing” her, something Canada’s youth laws oppose.” He seems to have forgotten what this girl did to her mother. She is everything but gifted and intelligent to me!
If she behaves well behind bars, then she can “earn” certain privileges such as TV, a phone call, whatever… as long as it doesn’t take away from her sentence.
If she wants to attend university, then she should wait until she has completed her sentence. I don’t see any reason why she should get out early because she has plans to pursue her education. They are many people on the outside who would love to attend university but do not because they can’t afford it.
Thinking of it, I wonder who will foot the bill for her education. She has been in jail for a few years and she will be supposedly under house arrest, so it seems unlikely for her to find a job. Furthermore, if she has to be escorted every time she goes out, who will pay for that??
Ahhhh!! What a great system we have!