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A killer comes to town
Times Globe staff writer
copyright 1998 The Times Globe
Violet Cooke will stay in King Square for as long as it takes to keep her sister's killer behind bars.
Ms.Cooke and other members of her family are vowing to collect signatures on a petition,which calls for life sentences to mean life sentences.
She plans to present the list of names to the House of Commons when they resume in September.She wants politicians to change section 17 of the Corrections and Conditional Release act of Canada to eliminate early release and temporary absences for convicts serving life sentences.
"I won't rest until this bill is passed so that he'll serve his life sentence without any passes whatsoever. If they don't change the bill in september I'll keep submitting until they do."
Ms.Cooke's story started almost 8 years ago when her sister Janice Cooke-Green was killed in Hamilton,Ontario by Willis Walter Wright.
the two had been married until Mr.Wright began beating her children and she left.When Mr.wright found out she wanted a divorce,he became enraged.
On Oct.8,1990,Mr.Wright burst into the apartment where Ms.Cooke and a college friend had just finished having dinner. He stabbed John Ince,killing him before he could even get out of his chair.
Ms.Cooke-Green struggled with her estranged husband,yelling for her two young sons to run out of the apartment. She managed to get out of the building before Mr.Wright caught up to her.
Mr.wright said "You want a divorce,I'll give you a divorce," before stabbing her.She was 37 years old.
Mr.wright pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to two life sentences.
But 7 1/2 years after the murder,Mr.Wright was granted an escorted temporary absence (or ETA) on June 27,1998 to visit his family in Saint John.
"The neighbors " wrote Ms.Cooke,in a letter to the editor dropped off last friday ,"[were] unaware that a convicted murderer sat just yard or feet away from their familes."
"Society has a right to know if and when a dangerous offender enters their domain,especially the family of the victim."
Ms.Cooke said she stayed at home the entire day,just to avoid running into the man who killed her sister.
She said corrections officials wouldn't even tell her for sure when Mr.wright would be released.
"there was no consideration given to the family.We were not given ample time to fight this ETA-as a matter of fact,we had only 11 days before he was released on this pass,thanks to his sister who informed our family..."
She said she can't believe the government paid for a convicted double-murderer to visit his family hours away from his cell in Springhill.
"It's bad enough that our taxpayers have to pay to keep these murderers in jail.In mynopinion,anyone who commits a murder shoukld be put to sleep."
She said she isn't afraid of making Mr.Wright angry through her fight to change federal parole regulations.
"He already dislikes me.I couldn't do anything more to endanger my life more then it already is."
The best thing,she said is for her lobbying to effect change in the legislation.
"My family is safe as long as he's in there...So my fight is to keep him in there.And I'll fight the rest of my life if I have to."
If politicians arent' willing to change the parole legislation,she said at least let Canadian citizens decide.
"I think a nation-wide vote or poll should be taken to see what the people have to say about the issue at hand. Why shouldn't the people have the right to decide what is right for the people?
"It is our government ,we pay the taxes.Why shouldn't we have the right to voice our opinion on the bill governing the actions and decision on how a convicted murderer be dealt with within our system?"
{Memorial fund}{Help with my petition}
