Robert Latimer, convicted murderer and self-proclaimed mercy killer, has left prison after serving seven years. Still unapologetic for having filled his truck with exhaust fumes, thereby killing his disabled daughter, Tracy, Latimer holds that his act was no crime, but euthanasia.
Opinions range from support for the decision to sheer rage. Latimer’s wife has stated that she’s excited to have her husband home, while various advocates for the disabled protest against his release, which they take as a sign of indifference towards a morally reprehensible act of murder. Craig Langston, president of the Cerebral Palsy Association of B.C., believes that Latimer’s release sends the message that taking the life of a disabled child is an appropriate action. This argument is accurate. There should be a limit to the amount of power a parent has over their child’s mortality.
As Latimer showed no remorse for the killing, Marie White, chairwoman of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, believes his lenient sentence is unfair. “Due process was followed and no one can argue with due process,” says White. “I question if this issue had come up before the appeals board and it involved someone who didn’t have a disability, whether the same decision would have been rendered.”
Tracy Latimer was profoundly crippled with cerebral palsy, exhibiting the mental capacity of a three-yearold and living life, according to her father, in a devastated condition. In a letter written to the Canadian Press, Latimer claimed that his daughter had been suffering for far too long. She required excessive amounts of surgery, and could only take Tylenol to lessen the excruciating pain of her disease. Robert’s sister, Pat Latimer, believes that her brother never should have been prosecuted for the killing, but is happy nonetheless for his release. It is not altogether clear how much participation the family had in Robert Latimer’s freedom, but both Latimer’s wife and sister support the decision of the courts to let him out of prison. The legal process has been a tedious journey, dragging Latimer through a series of paroles, exemptions, and even a visit to a halfway house. Kelly Keyko, one of the jurors in the trial in 1997, said that he would not have voted guilty had he known Latimer would spend seven years in jail.
Cases of euthanasia are commonly hidden under a thick layer of discretion and clinical privacy. What we can know, we understand from the facts—moral complications fall under speculation and uncertainty. Was this euthanasia? Sources do not report Latimer’s daughter pleading for her death. But then again, she was under no mental condition to do so. The severe and debilitating circumstances of the disease itself could represent a silent plea to be released. Is it right to take another’s life into one’s own hands, no matter how shattered or compromised that life may be? Now that he’s free, it gives the appearance that Latimer may have been selfishly releasing himself from the burden of Tracy’s illness.
