English

By Dick Sobsey, University of Alberta

(12 May 2000) — Research demonstrates that people with disabilities are much more likely to be victims of violence than other people are. One study, for example, published in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine & Pathology found that twenty five per cent of people with cerebral palsy who underwent autopsy had been murdered. Although the sample is small the results are alarming.

Current research at the University of Alberta is examining the relationship between homicide and developmental disabilities.

By Dick Sobsey, University of Alberta

(12 May 2000) — Research demonstrates that people with disabilities are much more likely to be victims of violence than other people are. One study, for example, published in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine & Pathology found that twenty five per cent of people with cerebral palsy who underwent autopsy had been murdered. Although the sample is small the results are alarming.

Current research at the University of Alberta is examining the relationship between homicide and developmental disabilities.

(April 20, 2000)

When was Tracy murdered?

Tracy was murdered on Sunday, 24 October 1993. She was 12 years old at the time of her death.

Was Tracy's disability unique?

No. Her mother testified in court that there are thousands of children in North American, and indeed all over the world, who have Cerebral Palsy like Tracy had.

(14 April 2000) — On 31 March 2000, the Attorney General for the Province of Saskatchewan submitted its factum to the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Her Majesty the Queen v. Robert William Latimer. In its factum the Crown addresses the facts of the case, points of law that are at issue in the appeal, the arguments being put forward in the case and the order that is being requested from the Supreme Court of Canada.

(7 April 2000) — Because she was murdered by Robert Latimer, Tracy Latimer will never have the opportunity to tell the world what her life was really like. Tracy's communication books, in which her mother and others recorded the events of her life, tell the story of a happy young girl, who participated in the same kinds of activities that other Canadians, both those with and without disabilities, experience. Evidence was introduced at Robert Latimer's trial that demonstrates that Tracy's life was more than just pain and suffering.

• Facts and background
• Issues
• Argument
  • Introduction
  • The circumstance of people with disabilities
  • The significance of Charter rights
  • The position of children
  • The issue of pain
  • Assessing the qu

(30 March 2000) — The following are some key dates to remember in the Latimer case:

23 November 1980—Tracy Latimer is born.

24 October 1993—Robert Latimer murders Tracy Latimer, by gassing her with carbon monoxide in his truck.

16 November 1994—A jury convicts Robert Latimer of second degree murder.

(29 March 2000) — A coalition of disability organizations have come together to intervene in Robert Latimer's Supreme Court Appeal which will be heard on 14 June 2000. Legal counsel for the intervention is Bob Richards of MacPherson, Leslie and Tyerman, Barristers and Solicitors. This coalition also intervened in Latimer's second appeal to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.

(28 March 2000) — Robert Latimer's Supreme Court Appeal will be heard on 14 June 2000 and this will occasion an outpouring of pro- Robert Latimer support. Past experience suggests that some bioethicists will be among his supporters. Ethicist Eike Henner Kluge has stated, "Tracy would not have been in this situation if people had not used heroic means all along. Someone should have stopped along the way and asked, 'Should we be doing this?

(27 March 2000 — The following is a summary of a presentation made by Hugh Scher, Chairperson of CCD's Human Rights Committee, to the Senate Subcommittee to Update "Of Life and Death" of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology.)