CAN KILLERS OFFER MESSAGES OF HOPE?

CAN KILLERS OFFER MESSAGES OF HOPE?

My day started off pretty well until I read the following news item. “A man convicted of strangling a woman to death in Vancouver in 2007 has been dropped as a presenter at an upcoming teachers’ convention in Calgary. Andrew Evans was found guilty in 2009 of beating and strangling a young woman in an apartment after he flew into a “blind rage” over his inability to get an erection. He was sentenced to life without parole for 10 years, but he won day parole three years early, in 2014. Today, he works as a quality assurance co-ordinator at the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre.” Then I went berserk with a boatload of questions!

What the hell was the teachers’ convention speaker selection committee thinking? They had billed the killer as, someone who is familiar with the struggles of addiction, and “his message is one of hope,” having “the lived experience of active addiction and active recovery.” Someone who really believes that a convicted drug addicted killer can deliver a meaningful and appropriate message of hope to a roomful of teachers needs to have their head examined. In my opinion, (as biased and prejudiced as it may be) I do not really accept that convicted killers can deliver hopeful messages! “Killers deliver messages of hope” is not a bumper sticker I would ever support. Not to mention, that all speakers receive a monetary stipend for their presentations!

Then my mathematical analytics began to further examine the article. A person convicted to life in prison in 2009, without parole for 10 years, but can have day parole in 2014 (five years later) is now employed by a government agency. I can only assume he is out of prison, and all is forgiven by the bureaucracy and a life sentence really means about ten years. The family and friends of the victim have to just accept this reality and hope that the killers does not go into another “blind rage” in the future. I am assuming that in ten years of confinement Mr. Evans has mended his ways, become a model prisoner and earned his very early release from a life time sentence in order to pay back his debt to society. Prison life seems to have resulted in an almost religious conversion. This is just another example of our incomprehensible justice system, where murder convictions and life sentences are totally meaningless. 

If convicted addict killers can be employed to work with adolescents during drug rehabilitation, should we parole rapists to work with counselling victims, or child molesters to work in day cares because they “understand” the issues and suffering? Should financial institutes be recruiting convicted fraudsters and Ponzi artists as financial planners and consultants? Could police departments be utilizing imprisoned burglars and thieves as paid consultants to assist with current break and enter methodologies? People convicted of crime are criminals, not entrepreneurs who can profit from their crimes by becoming public speakers or “experts in their fields” when they are released. 

If the Calgary Teacher’s Convention speaker selection committee wants a really interesting individual to speak on “What is wrong with education today” I would be happy to speak and even waive my fee!