wait… how is this happening?

 

wait… how is this happening?

I read the news today and honestly had to stop.

Shane Robert Ertmoed, the man serving a life sentence for the 2000 abduction, sexual assault and murder of 10-year-old Heather Thomas, has been granted a 60-day unescorted temporary absence from prison.

The stated purpose is participation in a cooking program at a community residential facility.

Heather was only 10.

She was playing outside her father’s townhouse complex in Cloverdale when Ertmoed convinced her to go inside his apartment. Her body was found three weeks later in Alouette Lake.

He was convicted of first-degree murder.

And now, 26 years later, he has been granted an opportunity to leave prison without an escort.

What makes this even harder to understand is that, according to the Parole Board of Canada decision reported by Peace Arch News, his own case-management team did not agree that the proposed absence could be safely managed.

The Board nevertheless concluded that he would not pose an undue risk of reoffending, while imposing extensive conditions.

Those conditions include restrictions on:

• contact with Heather’s family and friends
• where he can travel
• pornography and sexually explicit material
• being around girls under 18
• reporting relationships and friendships with women
• access to internet-capable devices

Those restrictions tell us something important.

This isn't simply a person being sent out to learn how to cook.

There are serious safeguards being put around him because of the nature of his history.

So I have questions.

How does an unescorted temporary absence work for someone serving a life sentence for the murder of a child?

What exactly does “will not pose an undue risk” mean?

Why did the case-management team believe the risk could not be safely managed while the Parole Board reached the opposite conclusion?

Who is responsible if those safeguards fail?

And perhaps most importantly:

How are the rights, privacy and safety of victims' families considered when decisions like this are made?

This isn't about pretending people can never change.

It's about recognizing that the person who was killed cannot come back.

Heather Thomas was 10 years old.

She should have grown up.

She should have had birthdays, friendships, mistakes, adventures, maybe children of her own.

Instead, her family has spent 26 years without her.

I don't know what the correct answer is to every question surrounding Canada's correctional and parole system.

But I do know that decisions involving people convicted of violent crimes against children deserve public understanding, transparency and careful scrutiny.

Read the decision.

Ask questions.

Understand how temporary absences work.

And remember the little girl at the centre of this story.

Heather.

Not just the prisoner.

Not just the parole decision.

Heather.

Because awareness is how we make sure children who were lost aren't forgotten.

💔