12.09.2010 11:31 AM

Pub ban lifted in Tori Stafford case

This is very hard to read, and a total shock.

Good God, what a world this is.

23 Comments

  1. Kirbycairo says:

    We know people have done and still do terrible things. But what strikes a profound and melancholic fear into the depths of our souls is the blank and banal face of evil; the idea that an apparently normal person can suddenly, for no apparent reason, commit a unspeakably horrible act. Reading the confession of this woman I get a sense that she truly doesn’t know what she abruptly did this terrible thing. I can’t help but wonder if our culture is being driven to a kind of schizophrenic state of total imbalance.

    • MCBellecourt says:

      It sure seems that way, Kirby.

      In small-town Northern BC, where I lived for three decades until seven years ago, there was an unprovoked knife attack on a small child in front of an elementary school. The entire town was left speechless, asking itself the same questions. What you just wrote here reminded me of that incident and put into words what we all felt then.

      This is so disturbing and so sad, but I’m grateful to Warren Kinsella pointing this out on his blog. We can’t turn a blind eye eny more.

      • Cat says:

        I echo your sentiments. What’s particularly hard to wrap my head around is now normal a day it was when this all happened. I remind myself of how many times my husband and I have cautioned our kids, particularly our girls about strangers, even the whole “puppy” scenario but we never suspect a teenager as being one of those awful “strangers”. My kids are grown now but I still worry about them being in the wrong place at the wrong time. How is it possible to guard against that as a parent?

  2. j. coates says:

    I don’t believe in the death penalty, but this warrants it.

  3. j. coates says:

    I’m not a big believer in capital punishment, but this demands it.

    • Namesake says:

      I’m still waiting for the inevitable third post in Joel’s logarithmic regression: “I demand that we all believe in the death penalty.”

  4. Wannabeapiper says:

    Hang the bitch, sez I!

  5. Northbaytrapper says:

    I don’t want to read it…sadly…I think I can guess what I’ll find therein.

    These two should be hung from a shit-stained rope.

    Like you Warren, I have kids and whenever I think about this my body begins to shake.

  6. Steve T says:

    So, for those opposed to capital punishment, please elaborate on why it is not appropriate in a case like this. Certain crimes, in my view, remove people from the human race. They should be treated the same way as vicious dogs, or perhaps an annoying mosquito that has come to suck your blood. Sure, you may feel a tinge of general remorse for taking a life, but you realize that the world will be a better place without them, and in any case they don’t deserve to live.

    • Andrew says:

      I can’t agree more with your statement.

      And sadly, there will be some advocate that will state that his person should receive a second chance and is a victim of society, blame society, etc.

      • Shane says:

        There is absolutely no one who will say that this person deserves a second chance, and there is absolutely no one who will blame society or suggest that she is a victim of it. Let’s not use this awful incident to attack straw men.

    • jaded says:

      Count me out. The lady is sick and maybe she doesn’t deserve to live, but she certainly doesn’t deserve to die by my hand or yours, and the state doing it doesn’t make it any different. And btw, I am not any less sickened or disturbed than you by what she did.

  7. JenS says:

    In and of itself, the story is extremely disturbing. That almost goes without saying, especially given I have children of similar age.

    Beyond the horrific specifics of the story, I have a further concern, with regard to the pub ban. A pub ban on a PLEA???? Are you kidding me? I’m not so hot on a justice system that doesn’t think it needs to stand up to public scrutiny. Openness of the courts ought be an issue in a democratic society.

    • Northbaytrapper says:

      I agree Jen,

      It’s not like the accepted statement of fact isn’t going to be introduced in the subsequent trial anyways. I personally want nothing to do with the details, however, they need to be available so that we can be assured that justice was done.

      My heart is breaking for her family.

  8. Steve Gallagher says:

    “Some wonder why I have such a feeling of concern over the imposition of the death penalty. I ask those who wonder how would you feel if you defended a man charged with murder, who was as innocent as any hon. member in this House at this very moment, who was convicted; whose appeal was dismissed, who was executed; and six months later the star witness for the Crown admitted that he, himself, had committed the murder and blamed it on the accused? That experience will never be effaced from my memory.”
    – May 1, 1972, House of Commons.
    John Diefenbaker

  9. Mr. Chamberlain says:

    Read her statement. So good for her to now have a sense of purpose for her life. No thank you.

  10. It was sickening for me to read that they literally drove RIGHT BY ME, with her in the back seat of the car… to think that so many people, including myself, were so close to being able to prevent this heinous tragedy… yet none of us knew what dark plans were about to be carried out.

  11. j. coates says:

    I have to wonder at the Sun’s reporting.

    “There was silence as McClintic was brought into court, wearing a tailored black suit and a cream shirt, her hair pulled back.”

    Who cares what she is wearing?

    • JenS says:

      Meh . . . it’s just colour, a way of setting the scene. I’m not sure why that would be considered bad reporting. Some would see that as adding detail that showed what seems like an attempt to appear demure, despite the heinous crime to which she pleaded guilty.

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