Robert Latimer had little or no voluntary control of her muscles, wore incontinence pants, and could not walk or talk.
24 Facts About Robert Latimer
1.
2.
Robert Latimer's doctors described the care given by her family as excellent.
3.
Robert Latimer noted that despite having a hip that had been dislocated for many months Tracy could not take painkillers because she was on anti-seizure medication which, in combination with painkillers, could lead to renewed seizures, stomach bleeding, constipation, aspiration and aspiration pneumonia.
4.
Robert Latimer reported that the family was not aware of any medication other than Tylenol that could be safely administered to Tracy.
5.
Robert Latimer had died under the care of her father while the rest of the family was at church.
6.
At first, Robert Latimer stated that Tracy had died in her sleep.
7.
When confronted by police with autopsy evidence that high levels of carbon monoxide were found in Tracy's blood, Robert Latimer confessed that he had killed her by placing her in his truck and connecting a hose from the truck's exhaust pipe to the cab.
8.
Robert Latimer said he had considered other methods of killing Tracy, including Valium overdose and "shooting her in the head".
9.
Robert Latimer said his actions were motivated by love for Tracy and a desire to end her pain.
10.
Robert Latimer described the medical treatments Tracy had had and was scheduled to have as "mutilation and torture".
11.
Robert Latimer was charged with first degree murder, convicted of second degree murder by a jury, and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for 10 years.
12.
Robert Latimer subsequently lost an appeal to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
13.
The Court ruled that Robert Latimer was not denied rights to jury nullification, as no such rights exist, and his prison sentence was thus upheld.
14.
Robert Latimer began serving his sentence on January 18,2001, and was incarcerated at William Head Institution, a minimum-security facility located 30 kilometres west of Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island.
15.
Robert Latimer continued to operate his family's farm with the help of a manager.
16.
On December 5,2007, Robert Latimer requested day parole from the National Parole Board in Victoria.
17.
Robert Latimer told the parole board that he believed killing his daughter was the right thing to do.
18.
The board denied his request, saying that Robert Latimer had not developed sufficient insight into his actions, despite psychological and parole reports that said he was a low risk to reoffend unless he was in the same situation again.
19.
In January 2008, lawyer Jason Gratl filed the appeal on Robert Latimer's behalf, arguing that in denying parole, the board had violated its own rules by requiring admission of wrongdoing and by ignoring the low risk for reoffending.
20.
Robert Latimer later relocated to Victoria, where he was required to live in a half-way house five days a week and could live in his own apartment two days a week.
21.
Robert Latimer had been seeking looser parole conditions since August 2009.
22.
Robert Latimer was assessed to have a low risk of re-offending.
23.
On November 29,2010, Robert Latimer was granted full parole and this decision took effect on December 6,2010.
24.
Ethicist Arthur Schafer argued that Robert Latimer was "the only person in Canadian history to spend even a single day in prison for a mercy killing" and that compassion and common sense dictated a reduced sentence and the granting of parole.