WRITER - The Tyee -
Anger Management
Following the Law of Life that “no good turn goes unpunished,” The National Parole Board told their own minions to knock it off with all the Doomsday Talk. Mr. Fish could sue you for calling him names. We’re not making this up; this is what they did.
So when it came time for a recent parole hearing, one of the three National Parole Board panelists hearing the case of Mr. Eric Fish said, “Well, I think the applicant is a Stone Cold Killer and he hasn’t learned a darn thing except how to better manipulate folks like us and he’s a frightening danger to the community. Parole denied.”
Unfortunately, for you and me and for the old man in Vernon and for Howard House, the other two National Parole Board panelists decided that Mr. Eric Fish wasn’t much of a risk after all. Parole granted.
Mr. Fish was sent to Howard House in Vernon, a halfway house run by the John Howard Society. In short order, he walked away, vanished into the ether for about ten days, and resurfaced only when the RCMP arrested him for murder. The RCMP, who had been alerted by Howard House that Fish was on the loose, have yet to explain why they didn’t present this information (along with the lunatic’s photo and description) to the unsuspecting public. God knows, the old man may have resisted letting Mr. Fish into his home.
You should know that when Howard House was first opened a great many years ago, it was recognized by all and sundry as a wonderful program. The man who opened the facility was known variously as a saint and a genius. Management has changed over the years, people have come and gone, and Howard House has acquired the unenviable record of having several lunatics like Fish wander away and murder again.
The public outcry over this most recent tragedy had been enormous. Loud and angry. As it ought to be.
But the result is a public hoax. The very people who are responsible for this disaster are National Parole and Corrections Canada. Some day the relatives and friends of a victim will sue these bureaucrats. (Such law suits against Corrections services are becoming commonplace in jurisdictions as close as Washington State.) Some day these public servants who refuse to acknowledge the rare but deadly presence of Evil in our midst will be held personally accountable.
For now, in this case, they have been able to divert the public’s attention. They have made Howard House the Bad Guy. Even though Howard House has simply been taking the parolees that National Parole and Corrections Canada have sent it.
In its last great fit of exorcism, the Parole Board has decided not merely to close Howard House; but to raze it, to burn it to the ground.
God forbid, the building might find use as a senior’s recreation centre, an adult education facility, a day care, a suite of offices for like-minded social services. No. The House of the Devil will blaze aflame before our eyes and, verily, let us all be cleansed. Amen.
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