Friday, May 31, 2013

Despres Will Remain In Psychiatric Facility

A man known in Charlotte County for being able to successfully cross the U.S. border while carrying a multitude of weapons, including a bloody chainsaw, will remain locked up.

30 year old Gregory Despres, who brutally stabbed Fred Fulton and Verna Decarie to death in their Minto home back in 2005, will remain locked up in a secure psychiatric facility inside Dorchester Penitentiary.

A review board has determined Despres still is a threat after hearing from psychiatrist Louis Theriault who testified his treatment has stalled.   
    

Despres was found not criminally responsible for the horrific carnage because he could not understand the wrongfulness of his actions.
    

Both Fulton and Decarie were in their 70s.   
    

Theriault is recommending Despres be transferred to the Restigouche Mental Health Hospital in Campbellton to allow for visits from his family, which might help him understand his role in the murders but the board turned that down.

On April 25th, 2005, a day before the bodies were found, Despres (who is an american citizen) was allowed to cross the St. Stephen/Calais border while carrying a homemade sword, a knife, a hatchet, brass knuckles, and a chainsaw that were stained in blood. 

Police Chief Asks For Inquest After No Charges Laid

Saint John City police consulting with the Crown prosecutor's office deciding no criminal charges will be laid in the death of Serena Perry.

Perry died on February 14th, 2012 while she was a patient at the Regional Hospital.

The forensic pathology examination can't confirm a cause of death and as a result Police Chief Bill Reid has requested the Coroner's office hold a public inquest into Perry's death.

Snook Facing 4 More Sex Charges Against Boy Under 14

Former Common Councillor Donnie Snook is now facing four sex charges against a boy under 14 in Newfoundland.
These charges date back to December of 1995 and Snook is scheduled to appear in a Cornerbrook courtroom June 11th or at least have lawyer do so on his behalf.
Snook spent a year as an officer of the former Salvation Army Citadel in Mount Moriah back when he was in his early 20s and commissioned to be the church’s senior pastor.

Snook pleaded guilty to 46 charges of abusing children in Saint John earlier this week. He's back in court here on June 25th to have a date scheduled for sentencing.

Alberta Premier Coming To NB To Talk Oil

It's not hard to guess at what will be the main topic of conversation will be when Alberta Premier Alison Redford visits the the province next Friday and that's the proposed West to East oil pipeline.

Redford will be talking to the Saint John Board of Trade, touring the Irving Oil Refinery and addressing the Legislature.

The pipeline which was the brainchild of Charlotte County M-P John Williamson and promoted by former Premier Frank McKenna appears to be gaining momentum.

Premier David Alward, who's looking for some positive economic news, calls this project "historic" and compares it to the building of the national railway.

NB And PEI Toughest Provinces To Get An Abortion

The anti-abortion organization right to life Right to Life is claiming Henry Morgentaler's lawsuit to have abortions covered by Medicare
in New Brunswick ends with his death. In a statement, the organization's director Peter Ryan said, "His legacy is the death of hundreds of thousands of Canadian children, including over 9,000 in New Brunswick. He thought he was helping women but a dead child helps no mother. His opinion on the matter no longer counts. Only the truth matters now."

But Simone Leibovitch of Fredericton's Morgentaler clinic tells Tide News the clinics will continue to fight for what they call a human rights issue. She calls the situation in New Brunswick and PEI "unique," since they are the only provinces that don't cover the procedures. In New Brunswick women must seek permission from their family doctor to get an abortion---which can be difficult in a province where many people don't have family doctors. Besides, Leibovitch says she knows of some doctors who are pro-life and will not even prescribe birth control.

In PEI, women have to go off-island to get the procedure which Leibovitch says is impossible for women who are often already strapped for cash or unemployed.


Despite his controversial legacy, Morgentaler had been hailed as a champion of women's rights before his death this week at age 90.