Sheryl, we're thinking of you today and everyday...

Thirty years have passed without your vibrant life here on earth,
But in our hearts and minds, you are with us everyday.
I do my best to think of the positive impact you made,
Yet it's hard not to think of all you could have been.

I wonder where you would have spread your roots?
Would you have stayed in Canada or moved to another country?
Either way, you should still be living with us.
Either way, we've all been robbed.

I think about Mom and Dad, and our sister Suzanne, and how much we all miss you.
I think about your many friends who miss you too.
I think about the growing circle of friends you would have made,
And how sad it is that we'll never know who they might have been.

I think about you being married, at least once ;)
And how that will never happen.
I think about the beautiful children you would have had,
But never will.

I think about you being an aunt to Jennifer, Jamie, Allyson and Sophie,
And how you are in spirit from heaven.
I think about the special cousins our children would have all been,
But never will.

I smile at the laughs and stories we shared,
But my smile fades at the laughs and stories we'll never have.
Yes the memories can never be erased,
But the future should not have been so brutally extinguished.

I'll never understand how Ralph Power was so cruel,
To end your happy life, that was filled with inspiration and potential.
He didn't even know you.
How could he even think of harming you in such a fatal way?

I can't believe you were only 20 when your fate was so cruelly decided.
I can't believe we'll never again celebrate birthdays, Christmas or any holidays together.
Since you've been gone there's always been an empty place,
In our hearts and in our souls.

I do believe you were living your life and dreams to the max,
But sadly that all came to a tragic, senseless and abrupt stop.
So now we can only imagine how much you could have achieved and contributed.
We can only imagine what you would be doing...and we miss you every single day.

Clifford Olson's Parole Review Hits Close to Home

For me personally, it's been a major year of change. Hence part of the reason my last post was way back in January of this year when I shared the news that Ralph Power had waived his right to a full parole review. That potential review was the third he's denied since completing his 25-year sentence for the first degree murder of my sister, Sheryl Gardner. Why was that the third potential review? It's simple - the current laws make automatically scheduled parole reviews happen every two years.

Today's parole review with Clifford Olson really hit home. What a painful experience, yet again, for the victims of his crime. What a waste of time for the parole board. I don't need to elaborate because it is self-explanatory.

Unless you're living in the aftermath of a serious crime like murder, you'll never know the pain associated with these parole reviews. Like I said, we've been spared that pain...for now...because Ralph Power has waived three out of three parole reviews. We can only hope he has become so institutionalized that he is content behind bars. But unfortunately, we must wait and see what happens in March of 2012. Will he waive again or will he go for it?

For the survivors of Clifford Olson victims, I can only hope Olson is being honest with regards to future parole reviews. He said something to the effect: "This is it, I'm done."

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Music to my ears - parole review is waived again

What a relief! Just received notification that Ralph Power - the man who murdered my sister Sheryl Gardner back in 1981 - has waived his right to the full parole review that was scheduled for April 2010. A further review for full parole has been scheduled for March 2012, but at least until then, we can all breathe a little easier. We're all safer as long as Ralph Power stays behind bars. It's that simple.

Victim support group might close if funding isn't secured

Further to the loss of funding for the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime (www.crcvc.ca), I wrote an opinion-editorial letter. While it didn't get published as a letter, I did get a call and this story was published:

Victim support group might close if funding isn't secured

An Ottawa woman whose sister was murdered wants the federal government to equalize funding for groups that support victims and criminals.

Carolyn Gardner said it’s unfair that groups serving offenders receive the bulk of a $1.8 million Public Safety Canada program, which offers grants to criminal justice organizations.

“Where’s the balance? I’m not seeing it,” said Gardner, whose sister, Sheryl, was beaten to death in her Toronto apartment in 1981.

Gardner made the comments Friday as an Ottawa-based victims group warned it will not
survive unless it gets a new injection of financing

The Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, which works primarily on behalf of the families of murder victims, has announced it will have to close unless it secures a financial lifeline.“For me and my family, the resource centre has been incredible at helping us understand the parole process,” said Gardner, who is fighting to keep her sister’s murderer, Ralph Power, in prison.

Power, impersonating a telephone repairman, entered 20-year-old Sheryl Gardner’s apartment and killed her with a hammer. Born in Gananoque, Gardner had moved to Toronto to pursue a modeling career.

The resource centre, Carolyn Gardner said, has helped her understand that she can play an active role in the parole system: “They’re just an amazing organization and I don’t know what I’m going to do if they don’t get funding; I don’t know where else I’m supposed to go for help.”

The financial crisis at the resource centre was precipitated by the Canadian Police Association’s decision to suspend its $92,000 annual contribution to the group because of its own cash crunch. The police association has had to lay off staff this year and cut costs to deal with a drop in its revenues, said president Charles Momy.

The association launched the crime victims’ resource centre in 1993 and has remained its primary sponsor.

Momy said the association still supports the centre’s work, but can’t afford it anymore. “The resource centre is about assisting the victims of crime through the justice process right through to parole hearings,” he said. “We want to see it continue.”

Heidi Illingworth, director of the crime victims’ resource centre, said it has enough money to operate until the end of the year.

The association has recently sent emergency appeals to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan. In those letters, the centre notes that its annual operating budget — just over $100,000 — is roughly the cost of incarcerating a maximum security offender for one year.

The resource centre now receives $19,000 from the Public Safety Canada’s sustaining funding program, which sends more than $1 million to groups that assist criminal offenders. “We feel there is an imbalance,” said Illingworth. “The services we provide victims of violent crime should be deemed just as important as the services provided offenders coming back in to society".

“We know they’re doing good work, important work, but the voice we provide victims of crime is equally important.”

The centre offers assistance to about 200 crime victims a year.

The Right to Know

Had a good interview with Rob Tripp of the Kingston Whig Standard yesterday. He was interested in my take on the amendments to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. Here's the article:

The Right to Know

The sister of a murdered Gananoque woman is encouraged by parole and prison changes announced yesterday by the federal government.

Ottawa will give victims and families of victims greater access to information about imprisoned criminals.

"I think it's a real step in the right direction," said Carolyn Gardner. "This is information that I think any family wants to know."

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan laid out plans to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

Victims would get:
* Advance notice of the transfer of convicts to minimum-security prisons.
* Explanation for transfers and temporary absences from prison.
* Information about the participation of convicts in prison programs.
* Information about prison infractions.

Gardner wants to know more about Ralph Ernest Power, the man who murdered her sister. In 1981, Power beat Sheryl Gardner to death with a hammer in her Toronto apartment. He schemed his way in by masquerading as a telephone repairman.

More inside:Reforms to benefit victims of crime.Page 10 The vivacious 20-year-old woman had moved to Toronto from Gananoque to pursue a promising career as a model.

Power was convicted in 1982 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years. He has been in prison since his conviction.

Gardner was notified within the past year that Power was transferred to medium-security Warkworth Institution in Campbellford.

"I don't know why he got moved," she noted, a situation that would be remedied under the changes announced yesterday.

Gardner has dedicated herself to keeping Power locked up and to changing what she believes are Canada's lax parole laws.

"In our case, Ralph Power has been transferred numerous times across the country and we never understand why," she said. "You want to know the status of these people, you want to to keep tabs on them."

The family was offended once, when they learned, after the fact, that Power has been shipped to medium-security Bath Institution.

"That was just so close to Gananoque where Sheryl is buried and I just felt it was really insensitive and I wondered why there -- 'Why have you moved him there?' -- there's places all across the country," she recalled.

Gardner said getting more information will help families provide more meaningful impact statements at parole hearings.

"I don't know what he's been up to for the last 28 years, I don't have a clue," she said.
"At least if I knew, I (wouldn't) stand there with my victim-impact statement and say things that might not be true."

She thinks it's in the best interest of offenders that families know more.

"It may help people feel better, that this person is actually taking some proactive programs that might help him or her become a better citizen," she said.

The Tories also plan to stiffen prison discipline and provide police with power to arrest released offenders, without warrants, if they are in breach of conditions.

"This government is taking a new approach to corrections by putting a greater focus on public safety," Van Loan said in a release.

"We are also putting the rights of victims first, by proposing changes to help keep them better informed."

Van Loan was not available for an interview.

The changes were panned by Craig Jones, executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada, a national organization that works with offenders and lobbies government.
He said the changes are designed to mollify hard-core former Reform party members of the Conservative party.

"In order to go back to the electorate and say, 'Look, we've paid off our promises' ... they've got to go through and make what I think are changes largely for the sake of appearance but I don't think they're substantive in nature," Jones said.

The measures seem to tilt toward what is known as the penal harm movement, the notion that prisoners should be punished, in addition to being locked up, he said.

"By and large, I think Canada has held off the worst elements of it, but I think this is a nod in that direction," Jones said.

The government also pledged to create a national advisory committee on victims issues. It will give victims the opportunity to provide input into policies and procedures that impact them.

Copyright © 2009 The Whig Standard

CCRA amendments show improved support for victims of crime

Very happy to hear about the government's announcement to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. It was just announced today and it involves amendments to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA). The proposed legislation includes the following key reforms in four main areas: enhancing sharing of information with victims, enhancing offender responsibility and accountability; strengthening the management of offenders and their reintegration; and, modernizing disciplinary actions. What it all boils down to is better support for victims of crime...and these changes are a big step in the right direction.

Background: Although the CCRA clearly recognizes the interests of victims of crime and the role they play in the correctional and conditional release process, victims and victims’ advocates have voiced dissatisfaction with the current provisions and have called for enhancements. Therefore, a victim’s right to attend and make statements at National Parole Board hearings will be enshrined in law.

Additionally, the CCRA will be amended to expand the information that may be disclosed to victims by CSC and the National Parole Board (NPB). This includes:

• providing information on the reason(s) for offender transfers with, whenever possible, advance notice of transfers to minimum security institutions;
• disclosing information on offender program participation and any convictions for serious disciplinary offences;
• sharing the reasons for a temporary absence from a correctional facility; and,
• providing guardians/caregivers of dependents of victims who are deceased, ill or
  otherwise incapacitated with the same information that victims themselves can receive.

Another big change relates to when offenders withdraw their participation in a parole hearing 14 days or less before the scheduled date. Now, with the new amendments, the Board may proceed with a review and decisions of their case. This ensures that victims will no longer travel long distances to attend a parole hearing which is then cancelled at the last minute. Victims will also be able to request information on the reasons for a waiver of a parole hearing. I know from experience that this information we all want. Power has waived two hearings and we can only speculate why. To be accurately informed will be huge.

In addition to the proposed reforms to maximize the knowledge and access to services offered to victims of crime, a National Advisory Committee on Victims Issues co-chaired by the Departments of Justice and Public Safety will be created. This committee will give victims the opportunity to provide input into policies and procedures that impact victims and victims’ services.

There's more info at http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/media/nr/2009/nr20090616-1-eng.aspx

Reporters are on this already - spoke with Rob Tripp at the Kingston Whig and have a 4:30 interview with CTV News.