Supreme Nightmare

It's frustrating. It's maddening. It is an example of an overly bureaucratic justice system. And for Lesley Miller, it is the continuation of a living nightmare.

Miller, who is a study in courage and strength, recently learned that the man who brutally beat her husband will get yet another chance to state his case in a court of law.

In November 2000, Dougald Miller was an apartment manager in Edmonton. While attempting to remove a vagrant from the foyer, he was attacked and left in such a condition that he could not speak. He is now a paraplegic who must live in an extended-care facility.

In 2002, Leo Teskey, a man with an already lengthy history of violent acts, was convicted in the beating. Lesley, who is always by her husbands side, must have felt a slim piece of closure. Any chance of that is now gone, thanks to the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in a 6-3 decision to grant Teskey a new trial.

It seems that the presiding judge of this case took too long in submitting his decision to convict. So, because a judge couldn't get off his fat ass and do his job, a convicted nutjob gets yet another chance to find a loophole to freedom. Because a trusted cog in the justice wheel failed in his duties, Lesley Miller must once again relive what she describes as a 'nightmare'.

The 'new' Conservative government ran on a promise to get tougher on crime. While they have made some inroads to that effect, they should also concentrate on eliminating the red tape and other assorted crap that fills the system.

The longer this drags on, the more victims it will create. First Dougald was hurt physically. Now, his wife Lesley is being abused emotionally by a slow moving and idiotic justice system. Sphere: Related Content