Serial Killer Clifford Olson Denied Parole
Posted July 18, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The man that gave himself the nickname, “The Beast of British Columbia” won’t be returning to the province he once terrorized any time soon.
On Tuesday, serial killer Clifford Olson was denied parole after authorities concluded he would kill again if released from the the maximum security Quebec prison.
“Mr. Olson presents a high risk and a psychopathic risk,” said National Parole Board panel member Jacques Letendre.
“He is a sexual sadist and a narcissist.
The 66-year-old appeared disheveled and delusional at his parole hearing as he blasted the board for not having jurisdiction over his case.
He went off on several tangents, telling the board he had information about the September 11 th, 2001 attacks and that he’d struck a deal with U.S. Homeland Security.
The three-member parole panel deliberated about 30 minutes before announcing its decision.
Olson was eligible for the hearing because he’s served 25 years of his life sentence for a brutal string of killings that sent shockwaves through Canada in the 1980s.
In 1982, he confessed to murdering eight boys and three girls, ranging in age nine to 18. He also provided information on the deaths and locations of the bodies, which were dumped in various rural areas of B.C.
He’s now eligible for parole every two years, although victims’ relatives have sworn to attend each meeting and argue for Olson’s permanent incarceration.
Additionally, Justice Minister Vic Toews said recently Conservatives are looking at changing the law that allows such regular reviews.
Olson’s incarceration was reviewed once before in 1996 when it took a jury only 15 minutes to reject early release. In fact, public outrage over the mere holding of a hearing prompted amendments to the Criminal Code to strip serial killers of the right to a review after serving 15 years.
Olson was also slapped with a gag order while in prison, after he sent graphic letters to some of the victims’ families detailing his crimes.
Even previous to his career as a serial killer, Olson had a lengthy criminal record that included arrests for fraud, petty theft and break and enter.
He was also jailed for assaulting a four-year-old girl in Sydney, N.S., in 1978. He was released from prison in July 1980 and his first victim in the B.C. slayings disappeared four months later.
