Schoolgirl killer will reportedly apply for pardon next month
Convicted schoolgirl killer Karla Homolka is planning to apply for a pardon and will be eligible to do so on July 5, according to a report by CTV News. Unnamed sources say Homolka could be successful unless the government passes new legislation, currently held up in the House of Commons, that would deny violent offenders the right to apply for pardons. Prime Minister Stephen Harper cited Homolka’s upcoming eligibility as a reason for the reforms. The majority of convicts who apply for a pardon are granted one, and only 800 of 40,000 pardon applications were denied last year. A pardon does not erase a person’s criminal record, but makes it easier for them to get a job and travel abroad. Homolka, who was released from prison in 2005, received a 12-year manslaughter sentence in a plea bargain deal for the rape-murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French.