Western Standard - CORY'S RANT： Released thug kills a mother of five.

00:00:00.000 So yesterday, Calgary's police service released information confirming what many of us already pretty much knew and assumed.

00:00:06.840 The incident leading to the death of Angela McKenzie was not a road rage incident, as initially reported.

00:00:13.320 The mother of five was killed due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time,

00:00:17.020 while a gangster was chasing another vehicle and firing upon it in Forest Lawn in Calgary.

00:00:22.460 The other development that is surprising nobody out of this as well is that the prime suspect in the killing of this woman

00:00:29.360 was a criminal well-known to police.

00:00:32.340 In fact, he'd been charged with no less than six attempted murders only a few years ago.

00:00:38.680 Talal Amr was charged with a number of crimes related to acting within a criminal organization,

00:00:43.980 along with his string of attempted murders.

00:00:46.060 He was sentenced to seven and a half years in May of 2019.

00:00:49.800 With his time served, he was supposed to serve three more years.

00:00:53.040 Clearly, he was released since then, though, and it's now cost the life of an innocent woman, and he's on the run. 0.98

00:00:58.240 I didn't even want to show the picture of the scumbag, but since he is being sought, you know, 0.96

00:01:03.680 if you recognize this guy, call the police. 0.98

00:01:06.820 The gang war of 2015 in Calgary led to over 200 shootings.

00:01:10.060 Talal and his brother Barakat and two cousins, Badar and Abdul,

00:01:13.880 were all listed as high-level gang participants at the time.

00:01:17.580 We still couldn't keep them behind bars, though, apparently,

00:01:19.600 and we had a pretty good idea at the time who these guys were and what they were about.

00:01:23.420 Now, this year, Calgary's had over 50 shooting incidents and 12 homicides.

00:01:28.380 I wonder how long it's going to be before the authorities publicly admit we're in the midst of another gang war.

00:01:33.160 Now, the police can't be faulted here.

00:01:34.900 They have no control over the sentencing.

00:01:37.080 Our system is broken when it comes to imposing harsh sentences upon violent criminals,

00:01:41.820 and the consequences are of the worst kind.

00:01:44.760 What sort of judge in their right mind would think a man capable of that many attempted murders

00:01:48.220 would be safe in society after a few years in jail?

00:01:51.560 And it's not just gangland thugs killing innocent people.

00:01:54.400 We've been releasing violent sex offenders into the general public,

00:01:57.080 and it's cost lives as well.

00:01:58.940 Last September in Hinton, Alberta,

00:02:01.000 the bodies of Mikhail Bush and her 16-month-old son Noah were found.

00:02:06.880 They were murdered, and there were acts of sexual assault

00:02:09.500 and things done to them that I just won't even go into here.

00:02:12.000 It was a crime of the most horrific sort.

00:02:15.040 Robert Keith Major was pled guilty to that crime, 0.81

00:02:18.220 Major is a known violent sex offender.

00:02:21.080 The last time he was released into the public,

00:02:23.140 the Edmonton police released a warning saying,

00:02:25.660 Robert Keith Major is a convicted sex offender,

00:02:28.580 and that the Edmonton Police Service has reasonable grounds

00:02:30.960 to believe he'll commit another sexual offense against a female,

00:02:34.320 including children, while in the community.

00:02:37.180 Well, the police were correct, 0.85

00:02:38.860 and now two lives have been lost as a result.

00:02:42.300 Major had been in custody.

00:02:44.480 He had a record of doing these actions,

00:02:46.540 and authorities were confident he was going to re-offend,

00:02:49.540 yet he was let loose into the community anyways,

00:02:51.680 and a mother and child died in the most horrible of ways.

00:02:55.900 Clearly, Major's past crimes and his behavior while in prison

00:02:58.220 indicated he was a danger to the public.

00:03:00.300 We do have a dangerous offender designation

00:03:02.180 that can be applied to some criminals in order to extend sentences,

00:03:05.180 but what the hell does it take to achieve such a status?

00:03:08.460 Then last April, 23-year-old mother, Jamie Lynn Shively,

00:03:12.540 was murdered in Calgary.

00:03:14.100 37-year-old Gerald Russell Frommel was charged in the murder.

00:03:18.320 He's another one in and out of prison his entire life for violent crimes. 1.00

00:03:22.640 He's a scumbag. 1.00

00:03:23.620 Does it have to be this hard to determine the dangerous offenders 1.00

00:03:27.220 from the nonviolent ones?

00:03:28.880 I understand that correction services are overwhelmed at times anyways,

00:03:33.100 but our courts are overwhelmed as well,

00:03:35.460 but is it impossible to prioritize?

00:03:37.500 I don't care if we release some shoplifters 0.51

00:03:39.700 and maybe some online fraudsters.

00:03:41.260 If that's what it takes,

00:03:42.760 make sure we keep the known violent prisoners in jail longer.

00:03:48.040 Reforming criminals, it should be a goal.

00:03:50.140 Second chances are important for criminals and offenders,

00:03:52.480 but it really depends on the offense.

00:03:54.920 Some offenses are just too heinous

00:03:56.420 and people demonstrate themselves to be too dangerous

00:03:59.060 to give the benefit of the doubt.

00:04:01.220 What is it going to take to get serious with sentences

00:04:02.980 for dangerous offenders in Canada?

00:04:04.980 I mean, if I had a dog with a propensity for attacking people

00:04:07.240 and I let it loose in a playground,

00:04:08.940 I'd be charged for putting the children at harm.

00:04:11.680 Maybe it's time to hold the people

00:04:13.160 who let these prisoners out accountable.

00:04:14.960 I mean, who's sitting on these parole boards

00:04:16.340 and deciding to release these people into the public?

00:04:19.020 How often are judges called out for their light sentences

00:04:21.240 with repeat violent offenders anyways?

00:04:23.500 Maybe when we release these guys on parole,

00:04:26.500 they should bill it with the people

00:04:27.580 sitting on the parole board for their first week.

00:04:29.280 If you think they're safe,

00:04:30.440 have them for a roomie for a little while.

00:04:31.800 See if that works out for you.

00:04:33.340 There's only so much society can do to prevent crimes.

00:04:35.900 I mean, sometimes people simply snap

00:04:37.220 and it leads to terrible outcomes.

00:04:39.180 There's no reason, though.

00:04:40.860 We should keep hearing about violent re-offenders.

00:04:43.820 We've caught them before.

00:04:45.020 We know their propensities.

00:04:46.820 We should be locking them up and throwing away the key.

00:04:49.360 The protection of the innocent public

00:04:50.640 has to take priority over the reformation

00:04:52.640 of high-risk, known violent criminals.

00:04:55.760 We've failed.

00:04:56.800 And in Alberta alone, in less than a year,

00:04:59.340 three mothers and a child have been murdered.

00:05:02.180 And there was no reason for any of it.

00:05:03.800 We already had those guys in jail

00:05:05.300 and we let them out.

Western Standard - May 17, 2022

CORY'S RANT： Released thug kills a mother of five.

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