For Immediate Release
Dangerous Offender Designation Overturned
(Ottawa-June 29, 1999) This morning, the Alberta Court of Appeal released its decision to overturn the November 17, 1994 designation of Lisa Neve, a young Aboriginal woman, as a dangerous offender. She was 21 years of age when she was labelled as the most dangerous woman in Canada and sentenced to an indeterminate prison sentence. Previously, two other women have been labelled dangerous offenders. The first woman killed herself in the Prison for Women. The second woman's case was also overturned on appeal. "As a result of the dangerous offender designation, Lisa has spent more than six and a half years living in some of the most severe and limiting prison conditions in Canada. That label has caused her undue hardship and suffering," stated Dawn McBride, President of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies. "We applaud this decision. It is long overdue. We hope that it will help to ensure that no other woman will face the tortuous ordeal that Lisa has been forced to endure. In addition to working to rectify the injustices in Lisa's case, we hope that this will result in broader systemic changes to the administration of justice for women, especially Aboriginal women criminalized in Alberta and across Canada. Right now though, we are committed to helping Lisa get out of prison as soon as possible, so that she may get on with her life," concluded Kim Pate, Executive Director of the Association. Contact: KimPate@(613)851-7504
|