Ottawa Sun Article re Power Waiving Parole
This article was printed in today's Ottawa Sun...
RELIEF FOR VICTIM'S KIN
SISTER CELEBRATES SMALL VICTORY AS KILLER WAIVES PAROLE HEARING
Carolyn Gardner considers it a small victory that her sister's killer is abandoning a parole hearing.
Sheryl Gardner was a 20-year-old model living in Toronto in 1981 when Ralph Power entered her apartment and bludgeoned her to death.
Power, 52, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. He would have been eligible to seek full parole in June, but recently waived his parole hearing until May 2008.
Carolyn Gardner, who lives in Kanata, said the delay is a "relief."
"I feel like speaking up has got results," Gardner, 39, said yesterday.
HAVEN'T WON 'WAR'
At the same time, Gardner knows the victory comes with the reality that Power, who has not applied for day parole, could be outside prison walls in a few short years.
"It's inevitable that some day he will have a parole hearing. We've won the battle but not the war."
When he murdered Gardner, Power was under parole supervision for almost killing a woman after pouring gas through a letter slot and then setting it on fire.
Power, who stalked many young women, posed as a phone repairman to get inside Sheryl Gardner's apartment. He bludgeoned her with a hammer.
Evidence showed Power got thrills from ogling sunbathers through a telescope mounted on a tripod in his penthouse unit.
Carolyn Gardner has taken the family's lead in speaking out against Power's possible parole. She maintains a website, www.powernoparole.ca, where she collects support.
"The reason why we're talking about it is because (Sheryl) is definitely not forgotten," Gardner said.
Gardner successfully advocated for change in the past -- she fought for a DNA database for killers.
Sheryl's grave is in Gananoque, where she grew up; Power is jailed at the Bath Institution.
CLOSE TO RESTING PLACE
Gardner noted how unfortunate it is that Power is housed in a facility close to Sheryl's resting place. She intends to do everything possible to keep Power behind bars.
"I'm on it," she said. "I'll be watching."
jon.willing@ott.sunpub.com
RELIEF FOR VICTIM'S KIN
SISTER CELEBRATES SMALL VICTORY AS KILLER WAIVES PAROLE HEARING
Carolyn Gardner considers it a small victory that her sister's killer is abandoning a parole hearing.
Sheryl Gardner was a 20-year-old model living in Toronto in 1981 when Ralph Power entered her apartment and bludgeoned her to death.
Power, 52, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. He would have been eligible to seek full parole in June, but recently waived his parole hearing until May 2008.
Carolyn Gardner, who lives in Kanata, said the delay is a "relief."
"I feel like speaking up has got results," Gardner, 39, said yesterday.
HAVEN'T WON 'WAR'
At the same time, Gardner knows the victory comes with the reality that Power, who has not applied for day parole, could be outside prison walls in a few short years.
"It's inevitable that some day he will have a parole hearing. We've won the battle but not the war."
When he murdered Gardner, Power was under parole supervision for almost killing a woman after pouring gas through a letter slot and then setting it on fire.
Power, who stalked many young women, posed as a phone repairman to get inside Sheryl Gardner's apartment. He bludgeoned her with a hammer.
Evidence showed Power got thrills from ogling sunbathers through a telescope mounted on a tripod in his penthouse unit.
Carolyn Gardner has taken the family's lead in speaking out against Power's possible parole. She maintains a website, www.powernoparole.ca, where she collects support.
"The reason why we're talking about it is because (Sheryl) is definitely not forgotten," Gardner said.
Gardner successfully advocated for change in the past -- she fought for a DNA database for killers.
Sheryl's grave is in Gananoque, where she grew up; Power is jailed at the Bath Institution.
CLOSE TO RESTING PLACE
Gardner noted how unfortunate it is that Power is housed in a facility close to Sheryl's resting place. She intends to do everything possible to keep Power behind bars.
"I'm on it," she said. "I'll be watching."
jon.willing@ott.sunpub.com
posted by Carolyn Gardner at 9:52 a.m. 
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