CHILD KILLED

Another Child Killed
March 26, 2001
Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD)

Chelsea Craig, a 14 year old Point Claire, Quebec high school student  with disabilities has been killed and her mother is being accused of the  crime. Prior to her death, Chelsea attended Lindsay Place high school.  In  the Montreal Gazette, Darelene Berringer, director of Giant Steps  school in  Westmount said, "For us, [Chelsea] was a delightful child who  wanted to  learn and develop and grow and was open to all kinds of new  things. Our  eyes light up when we think of her." (Montreal Gazette, 21  March 2001)

Chelsea is described in the media as having been "intellectually  handicapped" and having a "seizure disorder". Reports indicate that  Chelsea  had difficulty with communication, mobility and feeding  herself. At one  time she attended a school for children who have Rett  Syndrome.  Media reports indicate that Chelsea's mother, Rachel Craig allegedly  administered a lethal cocktail of drugs to her daughter and then ingested  some herself. The pair were found by James Craig, Chelsea's father. An  ambulance was called to the Point Claire home but Chelsea was pronounced  dead. Mrs. Craig survived her suicide attempt. Media reports indicate  that  police intend to charge Rachel Craig with first degree murder.

Chelsea's name must be added to the CCD Latimer Watch's too long list of  names of people who have been put to death because they have had a  disability: Ronald Lambert, Jim Nazar, Tracy Latimer, Ryan Wilkieson,  Katie  Lynn Baker, Charles Blais, Andrea Halpin.

This is the third time that the CCD Latimer Watch has reported upon the  killing of a person with disabilities by a parent in Quebec. Charles  Blais  and Andrea Halpin are other Quebecers with disabilities killed by  their  parents.

In November 1996, Danielle Blais drowned her 6-year old son Charles, who  had autism. On 8 November 1996, the Montreal Gazette reported that  Blais  had been charged with murder. On 2 July 1997, Blais received a  23-month  suspended sentence for manslaughter. Blais did not go to  prison and part of  her sentence was to be served in a Montreal halfway  house. On 14 November  1996, Andrea Halpin was shot to death by her  father, who then killed  himself.

These cases were preceded by the death of Katie Lynn Baker who was  starved to death in British Columbia. Like Chelsea, Katie Lynn had  Rett's  Syndrome. Despite the fact that a coroner's inquest ruled Katie  Lynn's  death a homicide, no charges were laid in this case.   When cases such as  these arise, discussions often turn to an examination  of the services that  were made available to the families. During the  Blais case, Jim Derksen  stated, "The unmet service needs of people with  disabilities are always an  issue--a very important issue for the  living. However, we must be very  vigilant when we relate that issue to  the murder of people with  disabilities, such as Latimer, Wilkieson,  Blais, or Baker, that we do not  allow the possibility of anyone  misunderstanding the need for services as  justifying the murder in any  way or degree."

Media reports suggest that Chelsea's mother was depressed when the  killing took place. It is recognized that being a care giver is a very  difficult role and it may lead to psychological problems in some  individuals. CCD's expectation is that due process will be followed.  CCD is  working to ensure that the legal system does not operate in a  discriminatory manner in cases where victims of murder are people with  disabilities.

The Supreme Court ruling in Latimer's last appeal made comments relevant  to this case:   * "His [Latimer's] care of his daughter for many years was  admirable.  His decision to end his daughter's life was an error in  judgement. The  taking of another life represents the most serious crime in  our criminal  law."

* "We are mindful of Mr. Latimer's good character and standing in the  community, his tortured anxiety about Tracy's well-being, and his  laudable  perseverance as a caring and involved parent...we cannot find  that the  personal characteristics and particular circumstances of this  case displace  the serious gravity of the case."

In a presentation before the Senate Subcommittee to Update of Life and  Death, Hugh Scher, the Past Chair of CCD's Human Rights Committee,  questioned why the disability of a murder victim is not considered an  aggravating factor for the purpose of charging and sentencing. He  stated,  "[T]wo years ago I was here talking to a Senate Committee and to the  Parliamentary Justice Committee about a new offense that was being added  to  the Criminal Code relating to the sexual touching of people with  disabilities... and how we and the Committee were concerned about the  fact  that people with disabilities are disprortionately victimized in  these kinds  of crimes. We acknowledged that disability is an  aggravating factor that  must be considered when we look at charging and  sentencing someone of this  kind of crime. When we talk about murder,  why do we not also look at  disability as an aggravating factor?"   In disregard to the Supreme Court's  statements on the denunciatory  function of the law, some people are calling  for leniency for Robert  Latimer. The Latimer case is not unusual. A  University of Alberta  homicide data base contains 110 fathers who have been  implicated in the  killings of their developmentally disabled children.  With the killing of another child with a disability, CCD must emphasize  the  importance of the Supreme Court statement on denunciation:

"...we are mindful of the important role that the mandatory minimum  sentence plays in denouncing murder. Denunciation of unlawful conduct  is  one of the objectives recognized in s.718 of the Criminal Code. As  noted by  the Court... 'The objective of denunciation mandates that a  sentence should  communicate society's condemnation of that particular  offender's conduct.  In short a sentence with a denunciatory element  represents a symbolic,  collective statement that the offender's conduct  should be punished for  encroaching on our society's basic code of values  as enshrined within our  substantive criminal law.'"

Latimer Watch 26 March 2001  CCD,  926-294 Portage Ave., Winnipeg MB. R3C 0B9.  Tel: 204-947-0303. Fax:  204-942-4625. Email: ccd@pcs.mb.ca . http://www.pcs.mb.ca/~ccd/