Innocent dad blindsided by knife and justice system
'He walked up behind me and stuck me'
By
MICHELE MANDEL, QMI Agency
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2011/12/16/19133266.html
This story appalls me. Unbelievable! I would never, repeat NEVER, be able to put something like this in one of my crime novels and get away with it. It would totally destroy my credibility as a writer. Just as this, totally destroys the credibility of Canada's justice system
Ken Lewis was seriously stabbed in front of his young daughter by Edward Travis Pafford, his deranged neighbour, who has a lengthy and violent criminal past. Someone from victims' services assured Lewis he'd be kept in the loop regarding the man's upcoming court appearances. However, he was not.
Pafford was charged with assault with a weapon, aggravated assault and failing to comply with a probation order andwas denied bail. Lewis has been patiently waiting for a trial date.
The victim learned through a friend that "...On Nov. 22, for pleading guilty to aggravated assault, Justice Mara Greene gave just 41 days in addition to the 79 days he'd spent in pre-trial custody and withdrew the assault with a weapon and failing to comply charges..." This meant the perpetrator would be released within a day or two, without the victim even knowing he'd been sentenced in the first place.
While I do believe that our justice system needs to accommodate perpetrators with mental illness, I also believe ALL victims have the right to be informed of the judicial process against their aggressors and be able to observe and participate in that process. I also believe the judicial system has the responsibility to protect our community from violent offenders, regardless of whether or not that violence arises from mental illness.
Is there anyone out there who disagrees?
Eileen Schuh, Author
THE TRAZ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005199RFE
A girl/A man/and the law
Adventure on the Canadian prairie in the shadows of the Rockies
7 comments:
I have a problem with this article!!
First of all....you are only getting 1/2 of a story!
Secondly, obviously this case went to court and Mr Lewis had not been able to be reached by the crown. Therefore this case went to trial and when ALL OF THE FACTS were heard, the judge gave her sentencing.
I find it terribly ignorant of The 'News' people to print an article of which they have only one persons version.
There are always 2 sides to a story.
Mr Lewis's daughter WAS NOT PRESENT, but in fact, his crack addict 'wife' was and she was egging him on, saying "Get him". This was NOT an 'unprovoked attack' but rather a fight between 2 guys over their 2 girl's having fought 2 wks prior. The victims 'wife' lost that fight but she was egging her 'husband' on by watching this fight and telling Mr Lewis to "Kick his ass"!!
Lewis has since lost custody of his daughter to CAS. His 'wife' (who was not supposed to be living with him) called them and told them of the fight.
He subsequently lost his daughter to CAS.
Mr Lewis was in court yesterday NOT for the Pafford/Lewis case, but for his custody issues with his crack addict wife/vs/CAS.
He wants to be on the news. End of story!
It's best to leave this story up to the story teller. He's done a great job of it!! Unfortunately it's not true!!
And by the way.....who said that Mr Pafford is mentally ill??
If it is just a term that Mr Lewis has said then I'll say that Mr Lewis is a hard core drug addict himself and has no right commenting on anyone else' health issues!
Nor should you!
Thank you for visiting and for your comments, Kryko. I provided my information source and would love to know yours...???
Since only one of the men was charged, I question your assertion that this not an attack but a "fight between two guys..."
I don't think I want the victim's reputation to influence my feelings about what I see as a faulty judicial process. Should only victims who are 'good guys' have access to justice in Canada?
Who has access to justice is an important concept to consider. In my (unpublished) novel, Noraebang, my protagonist bemoans the fact that investigators were insisting on uncovering the identity of the biker who murdered several of his rivals. "When bad guys kill bad guys, why to the good guys feel they have to stick their noses into it?"
She has a point, but it's a risky line of thought to pursue. Take for instance the Pickton inquiry currently underway to determine if the disappearances of Pickton's victims were improperly investigated because most were sex trade workers.
No matter how evil or unworthy we perceive people to be, we simply don't have a right to kill or assault them unless we are in immediate danger from them.
Justice must be equally available to us all or it isn't justice.
By the way, you did NOT reveal your source and unfortunately your 'source' was the news articles that you read!
Of course I can not reveal my 'source' but suffice to say that this person was there.
And I sat in the courtroom as a spectator and listened to the whole case, including the sentencing.
Believe me when I say that the Crown had tried to reach Mr Lewis on many occasions and deduced that Mr Lewis was screening his calls.
I just don't agree that because you read an article in the newspaper, you decide that it is truthful and there are some horrible things that you said about Mr Pafford that you should apologize for as they untrue.
He is NOT DERANGED nor was he on parole, as the paper states.
AND Mr Lewis has admitted to the police that HE HIT PAFFORD FIRST!!!
So how fair is it for a man taking the first swing and the person on the other end of that hit, (according to you) should NOT HIT BACK??
Give me a break!
All of this was presented in the courts, to the judge. Mr Lewis DID NOT have Mr Pafford run up from behind him and just stab him as he stated.
I would love to see Ken Lewis take a polygraph at the Police Department so the police can catch him in all of his lies.
It is just so not fair what this guy is doing!!
There is the possibility of slander on both Mr Lewis' and the newspapers that ran the articles. A lawyer is working on that.
I've also spoke to a police officer who assured me that they, the police, understand that Mr Lewis is only telling one side of the story in the newspaper.....HIS!!
Very unfair.
My 'source' also tells me that Mr Lewis is a good father to his daughter, but his 'wife' is definitely a problem with her drug addictions.
I wish him luck with his custody case as no crack addict deserves to have a child of 8 yrs of age live with her.
She belongs with her unemployed father.
Kryko, there are always two sides to a story--especially when it comes to crimes. However, not only did Eileen reveal her source of the article, she's revealed her own name. And she has made valid observations about the newspaper article. If there are any errors in the report, hopefully the reporter/newspaper will clarify that.
Are you related to either party in this case? Why can't you reveal your source? If you're revealing actual facts, then we'd like to know. We can't just take your word on it, now can we? You've made a lot of claims, with no way to prove them. Can you point us to a newspaper report that backs up your claims? I'd be interested in reading them. I'm always interested in justice.
Thank you, Kryko, for your comments. I certainly apologize for causing further distress if there are errrors in the news article I quoted.
My opinions are directed at the judicial system, not at Lewis or Pafford. I believe all victims ought to have a right to participate in the judicial process.
If adequate attempts were made to inform the victim of the legal status of the case, then obviously I have no issue with the way this case was handled judicially.
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