No Justice for Tracy

By Raymond D. Cohen

MY WORD!

NO JUSTICE FOR TRACY

EDITORIAL BY RAYMOND D. COHEN

Tracy Latimer, don’t rest yet! We still need your voice -- for, while you may not have spoken while living, your eloquence in death protects countless people with disabilities.

Tracy Latimer was murdered by her father, Robert, on October 24 over seven years ago. He was convicted of second-degree murder. Latimer appealed, and was again found guilty. Finally, the Supreme Court has ruled that Robert Latimer must begin to serve the minimum sentence for murder set out under Canadian law: 10 years without being eligible for parole.

Robert Latimer loses 10 years of his life to incarceration. Tracy Latimer will never have the opportunity to experience her own.

I don’t quite know why I’m writing this editorial. You are ABILITIES readers, and you’ve read this stuff before. You are people with disabilities, or involved with disability issues -- and you likely agree that it’s not okay to kill people with disabilities.

So, maybe I’m not writing this for you. Maybe I’m writing this for myself -- because I feel indignant about what we as a country continue to be put through regarding Tracy’s death. And maybe I’m writing this for people whom we know outside of the disability community. Maybe I’m writing this because some of you might want to borrow a few of these words when dealing with the horrific question: "Is it okay to kill people with disabilities?"

On January 19, the "Globe and Mail" headline screamed, "Latimer Gets No Mercy" -- and this sentiment was echoed through other media as well. Even Canada’s organizations serving people with disabilities expressed relief that justice has been served. But has it?

Where is the justice in the media?

Tracy Latimer, many of the reports continued to refer to you as "suffering from cerebral palsy" and "confined to a wheelchair." It was word choices like these that misled the uninformed, made understandable the unthinkable -- gave credibility to a supposed act of "mercy" -- and served to divide the country in a disturbing debate.

Where is the justice from your family?

Not from your father... a father who neglected to help you by exploring pain control strategies and alternative living accommodations... a father who took it upon himself to commit the ultimate assault, and take your life.

Where is the justice from your country?

This country was hugely divided as to whether or not it was acceptable to kill a young citizen because of her disability. Other cultures have thought it was perfectly fine. Take Nazi Germany: Along with Jews, Gypsies and homosexuals, people with disabilities were transported into the infamous death camps by the hundreds of thousands. Robert Latimer is no Nazi, but his actions sparked a controversy that is reminiscent of that dark era. Perhaps this is worse -- no doubt, the ordinary citizens of Germany did not have much say as to who lived and who died. In our country, we are actually debating the point!

Where is the justice in the justice system?

According to the Globe, the court "expressed admiration for Mr. Latimer’s devotion to 12-year-old Tracy in the harrowing years she was alive..." The article goes on to indicate that the court, the Supreme Court of Canada, "subtly pointed Mr. Latimer towards his only remaining hope -- a request for the federal cabinet to exercise the royal prerogative of mercy and grant him a pardon partway through his sentence."

This is unbelievable! In what other murder conviction has the murderer been commended for "the good years" preceding the act of homicide? In what other murder conviction has a Supreme Court offered the message that "gee, it’s too bad you screwed up this badly. Much as we hate to do it, now we have to punish you. But hey, here is one possible early-exit door -- seek clemency from the federal government!"

This is an insult to you, Tracy! It is an insult to your memory as a smiling little girl in school, as a symbol that people with disabilities have the same rights as everybody else -- and God knows this includes the right to live! This right includes protection under the law -- not just in substance, but also in spirit!

Tracy Latimer will be able to rest once justice is truly done. Justice will be done when people with disabilities govern all aspects of their own lives -- including making their own monumental decisions. Justice will be done when people with significant disabilities no longer have to be concerned about whether somebody else thinks its okay to kill them -- no matter what the circumstance.

Tracy -- remain vigil.