Post by Dean Robinson on Apr 17, 2008 16:32:59 GMT -5
Law failing boy: Mom
Says bill passed after slaying should ensure inquest isn't 'piggybacked'
torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/04/17/5309606-sun.html
The mother of a murdered 8-year-old boy said they were failed by every government agency that was supposed to protect them from her abusive ex-husband -- the police, the courts, victims services and the Children's Aid Society.
And now Ontario legislators have been forced to acknowledge that the law they passed in honour of her son -- the one that bears his name -- has failed him too.
A tearful Julie Craven came to Queen's Park yesterday to demand an independent, stand-alone coroner's inquest for her son Jared, who was stabbed to death during a court-ordered unsupervised visit with his father, Andrew Osidacz, in Brantford in March 2006.
Craven believed mistakenly that Bill 89, Kevin and Jared's Law, which was passed within month's of her son's death, would trigger an automatic coroner's inquest that could explore how government agencies came to offer her husband a no-jail plea bargain and access to her son despite his history of horrific domestic abuse.
Craven said she noticed that the government introduced tough new animal protection legislation on April 3, the day before her son would have turned 11.
"How ironic -- if Andrew Osidacz had beaten the family cat, instead of me, his wife, he would have served jailed time and lost the right to access with the family pet and be deprived of ever owning an animal again," she said. "My cat is now almost 17 years old. He has lived twice as long as my precious child.
"And now my cat's welfare is more important to the McGuinty government than our province's children."
Craven has learned that Bill 89 does not apply to Jared or likely any other child.
Instead, the coroner's office will review Jared's murder along with that of her ex-husband -- who was shot to death by police.
NDP MPP Andrea Horwath said the Dalton McGuinty government has the legal power to order a separate inquest for Jared, as his family has requested.
Horwath said that was the intent of the legislature when it passed Bill 89, which was to provide an independent coroner's inquest when a child is killed during a court-ordered visit with a parent.
"The goal is to protect children and to ensure that Jared's death was not in vain," Horwath said.
Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci said he believes that all questions surrounding Jared's death will be fully explored by the joint inquest.
"As a father and a grandfather, I can only imagine how tragic these circumstances are ... I want the family to find out the answers."
Acting Deputy Chief Coroner Dr. Bill Lucas said the decision was made to review both deaths together because they were so closely intertwined, but the issues around the boy's death will focus prominently in the inquest.
Craven said she does not want her son's inquest "piggybacked" onto his murderer's inquest.
Says bill passed after slaying should ensure inquest isn't 'piggybacked'
torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/04/17/5309606-sun.html
The mother of a murdered 8-year-old boy said they were failed by every government agency that was supposed to protect them from her abusive ex-husband -- the police, the courts, victims services and the Children's Aid Society.
And now Ontario legislators have been forced to acknowledge that the law they passed in honour of her son -- the one that bears his name -- has failed him too.
A tearful Julie Craven came to Queen's Park yesterday to demand an independent, stand-alone coroner's inquest for her son Jared, who was stabbed to death during a court-ordered unsupervised visit with his father, Andrew Osidacz, in Brantford in March 2006.
Craven believed mistakenly that Bill 89, Kevin and Jared's Law, which was passed within month's of her son's death, would trigger an automatic coroner's inquest that could explore how government agencies came to offer her husband a no-jail plea bargain and access to her son despite his history of horrific domestic abuse.
Craven said she noticed that the government introduced tough new animal protection legislation on April 3, the day before her son would have turned 11.
"How ironic -- if Andrew Osidacz had beaten the family cat, instead of me, his wife, he would have served jailed time and lost the right to access with the family pet and be deprived of ever owning an animal again," she said. "My cat is now almost 17 years old. He has lived twice as long as my precious child.
"And now my cat's welfare is more important to the McGuinty government than our province's children."
Craven has learned that Bill 89 does not apply to Jared or likely any other child.
Instead, the coroner's office will review Jared's murder along with that of her ex-husband -- who was shot to death by police.
NDP MPP Andrea Horwath said the Dalton McGuinty government has the legal power to order a separate inquest for Jared, as his family has requested.
Horwath said that was the intent of the legislature when it passed Bill 89, which was to provide an independent coroner's inquest when a child is killed during a court-ordered visit with a parent.
"The goal is to protect children and to ensure that Jared's death was not in vain," Horwath said.
Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci said he believes that all questions surrounding Jared's death will be fully explored by the joint inquest.
"As a father and a grandfather, I can only imagine how tragic these circumstances are ... I want the family to find out the answers."
Acting Deputy Chief Coroner Dr. Bill Lucas said the decision was made to review both deaths together because they were so closely intertwined, but the issues around the boy's death will focus prominently in the inquest.
Craven said she does not want her son's inquest "piggybacked" onto his murderer's inquest.