The recent jail sentence handed down to a Saskatchewan dad who killed his severely disabled daughter is "ridiculous" says a right-to-die supporter.
Rhonda Clarke of St. Thomas said she was astounded at the lengthy sentence given to Robert Latimer who admitted to killing his 12-year-old daughter, Tracy. The girl had suffered with severe cerebral palsy since birth.
"I think it's ridiculous, it's totally utterly ridiculous," she said in an interview.
Mrs. Clarke said Mr. Latimer is being punished for being honest about what he did. She said lighter sentences are given to impaired drivers who kill someone while drunk or criminals who say they were insane at the time a crime was committed.
She said the decision will force people in Mr. Latimer's position to keep quiet about their actions.
"It's forcing people to be dishonest," she said.
Mrs. Clarke said this case should make the government aware it is time to examine the right-to-die issue as a whole and make some sort of decision about how these sort of cases will be treated. She recommends each situation be viewed separately.
"There's no two cases that are the same," she said.
Mrs. Clarke, who went on a hunger strike to bring awareness to the matter earlier this year, said she still plans on taking her 80,000 signature petitions to Ottawa. She said discussions with some politicians have been encouraging.
