Premier decries killer’s statutory release

WINNIPEG — A convicted killer’s statutory release from prison after 12 years “is not justice,” Premier Wab Kinew declared Thursday, as victims’ families attended a rally in downtown Winnipeg.

Kinew said he is writing a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney to raise concerns about justice-related issues after Shawn Lamb reached his statutory release date, with the intent of “ensuring if somebody takes multiple lives in our society, they’re going to be held accountable.”

“I just return to the question of how does this help? How does this help the general public’s sense of public safety? How does this help victims’ family members heal and feel secure in the community?” he said. “How does this help foster a feeling that our justice system actually delivers justice? I personally don’t see this news as helping that process.”

Lamb’s statutory release date was Thursday after he served two-thirds, or 12 years, of a federal sentence for two counts of manslaughter. He will serve the remaining six years in the community.

By law, most federal inmates automatically receive statutory release after two-thirds of their sentence, if they have not already been paroled.

Lamb, 66, is expected to be taken to a halfway house after the Parole Board of Canada ordered him to live in a designated facility, where he will be supervised, for at least six months. He is required to report all friendships or relationships to a parole supervisor, among other conditions.

Lamb, a repeat violent offender, was deemed to pose a “high imminent risk” of intimate partner violence and a “low imminent risk” of violence toward others after an assessment, a parole board report said.

Federal officials did not confirm whether Lamb was in fact released Thursday, nor did they identify the community where he will live or the prison he was or will be released from, citing privacy legislation.

Kinew said his letter to Carney will address a need to confront “bigger picture questions” about the justice system, including matters related to parole and statutory release, and broader systemic issues such as missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse people (MMIWG2S+).

The situation has caused further pain and fear for the relatives of two First Nations women Lamb admitted to killing — Lorna Blacksmith and Carolyn Sinclair — and a third, Tanya Nepinak, who he was accused of killing.

The families were among more than 200 people who attended a rally at Main Street and Broadway to condemn Lamb’s release and call for justice reforms.

“We’re not just advocating for Indigenous women. We’re advocating for all people of Winnipeg. This isn’t safe for all people,” said Paige Paupanakis, Blacksmith’s sister. “Even with all (of Lamb’s release) conditions, I think this isn’t acceptable. He doesn’t deserve to be walking around.”

“He’s going to be walking the streets freely.”

Nepinak’s daughter, Jasmine Mann, said she was angry and scared when she learned of Lamb’s statutory release date.

“He’s going to be walking the streets freely,” she said.

The province is making plans to search part of the Brady Road landfill for Nepinak, whose body has not been found, along with Ashlee Shingoose, who was a victim of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki.

Kinew said he has asked staff to explore what Lamb’s release could mean for the search for Nepinak, which is a humanitarian effort, and if it has to be thought about differently.

Nepinak’s aunt, Sue Caribou, said provincial staff assured her the search for her niece will go ahead.

“Our justice system needs to change. When you take a life, you should do life,” she said.

Lamb, who is from a First Nation in Ontario, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in 2012 in the deaths of Blacksmith, 18, Sinclair, who was 25 and pregnant, and 31-year-old Nepinak.

“My sister was someone who was so special, and her life just got taken away like that,” Paupanakis said.

Lamb pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Blacksmith and Sinclair’s deaths, but denied killing Nepinak. The charge in her death was stayed due to a lack of evidence.

First Nations leaders in Manitoba again demanded the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ 231 calls for justice be fully implemented.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents northern First Nations, demanded a review of statutory release provisions for violent offenders “to ensure public safety is prioritized.”

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs called on federal officials to re-examine the risk assessment and supervision conditions applied in Lamb’s case, and to establish mandatory notification to victims or their families before a prisoner is released.

Victims or families who want to receive updates about a federal inmate are required to register with the Parole Board of Canada or Correctional Service of Canada. Notifications are not automatic.

In Lamb’s case, some of the women’s relatives learned of his impending release from journalists or social media posts. Paupanakis was informed by an aunt.

“It’s triggering. It just feels like it happened yesterday,” she said.

Giganawenimaanaanig, Manitoba’s MMIWG2S+ implementation committee, called on Ottawa to amend the Criminal Code to allow for consecutive sentencing in multiple homicides.

Offenders who are serving life or indeterminate sentences are not eligible for statutory release. The Correctional Service of Canada may recommend statutory release be denied if it believes the offender is likely to kill or seriously harm someone, commit a sexual offence against a child or commit a serious drug offence before their sentence ends.

Frank Cormier, a criminologist at the University of Manitoba, said it’s rare for eligible offenders to be denied statutory release.

“Once you hit that two-thirds, it is virtually automatic,” he said.

“CSC can refer it to the parole board if they have some concerns about the person getting out, so clearly in this case they did, and then the parole board’s decision was that yes, he should still be granted his statutory release but with the condition of the minimum six months in a supervised facility. That is a little unusual.”

A federal report with the latest available data said 2,669 offenders, including 817 in the Prairie region, were on statutory release in the 2022-23 fiscal year amid a steady decline in the preceding decade.

» Winnipeg Free Press