Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Amazon Rapped Over Book By Notorious Sexual Sadist And Killer Paul Bernardo

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Nov, 2015 12:48 PM
    TORONTO — Online sales giant Amazon has an ethical and moral responsibility to yank a self-published fictional ebook by notorious Canadian killer Paul Bernardo, the lawyer for his victims' families said Friday.
     
    Irrespective of the law, Tim Danson said responsible corporate entities have a duty to make good-taste judgments.
     
    "I would take Amazon to task — and I'm sure the families would, too — in giving a sadistic, sexual sadist and psychopath this kind of platform," Danson told The Canadian Press. "They've got lots of other things to do to make money."
     
    According to the blurb on Amazon, the 631-page "A Mad World Order" involves a plot by a "secret cabal" to return Russia to a world power, ensnaring a man in machinations that involve the Russian Mafia and al-Qaida.
     
    While Bernardo, formerly of St. Catharines, Ont., does enjoy constitutional free-speech protections, Ontario law prohibits criminals from profiting from their crimes — in his case the first-degree murders of Leslie Mahaffy, 14, and Kristen French, 15, in the early 1990s.
     
    As a result, Danson said he would reluctantly be reviewing the novel to see whether it has anything to do with Bernardo's hideous videotaped rapes and murders, offences for which he was declared a dangerous offender.
     
    "I'd want to satisfy myself on behalf of the (victims') families that he hasn't disguised his crimes through fiction, because that would be an indirect way of doing what he can't do directly," Danson said.
     
    The Canadian Press has not been able to confirm Bernardo is the author of the book, but his lawyer told Global TV he was aware his client was writing a book.
     
    Neither Amazon nor Bernardo's lawyer responded to repeated requests for comment.
     
    Danson said he had not yet had an opportunity to speak to his longtime clients but said there is little doubt word of the book — as does any mention of Bernardo's name — would be "very hurtful" to them.
     
     
    A growing chorus of condemnation erupted on Amazon's website, with commenters calling on the company to pull the book and threatening a boycott.
     
    "I am totally disgusted that Amazon would sell a book by a convicted killer," one person posted. "I am no longer going to purchase anything on your site. You should be ashamed of yourselves."
     
    Another wrote: "Does anyone work for Amazon old enough to remember the horror of what he and his then-wife did? I remember the total state of disbelief most Canadians felt over what this perverted psycho did."
     
    Danson said the book — depending on its contents — could play a role at Bernardo's parole hearing scheduled for next spring. It would be relevant if the same patterns of violence and psychopathy are in play in the narrative as when Bernardo killed his victims with the help of his then-wife, Karla Homolka, who divorced him and served 12 years in prison for her role in the crimes.
     
    "I would argue that that would be a matter that should be of great concern to the parole board," said Danson, who stressed he had not read the publication.
     
    In the interim, the lawyer said, Bernardo is probably thriving on the attention and notoriety.
     
    "It's all entertainment for him," he said.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Re-instate Coast Guard, Ban North Coast Oil Tankers, Justin Trudeau Orders Ministers

    Re-instate Coast Guard, Ban North Coast Oil Tankers, Justin Trudeau Orders Ministers
    Trudeau has included the directives in a mandate letter to the federal minister responsible for fisheries and oceans and the minister of transport.

    Re-instate Coast Guard, Ban North Coast Oil Tankers, Justin Trudeau Orders Ministers

    Cyberbullying Must Be Part Of B.C. Curriculum, Teacher Development: Report

    Privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham and children's representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond have submitted a joint report to the B.C. legislature calling for a co-ordinated strategy to prevent cyberbullying.

    Cyberbullying Must Be Part Of B.C. Curriculum, Teacher Development: Report

    Metro Vancouver Warned Storm Will Bring Wet, Windy Weather

    Metro Vancouver Warned Storm Will Bring Wet, Windy Weather
    VANCOUVER — Metro Vancouver residents are being warned about a nasty storm that is forecast to bring heavy rains and blustery winds to the region.

    Metro Vancouver Warned Storm Will Bring Wet, Windy Weather

    NHL Defenceman Accused Of Illegal Bear Hunt In B.C. Plans To Plead Guilty: Crown

    NHL Defenceman Accused Of Illegal Bear Hunt In B.C. Plans To Plead Guilty: Crown
    Clayton Stoner of the Anaheim Ducks faces five charges for a hunt in 2013, but his case was adjourned Friday.

    NHL Defenceman Accused Of Illegal Bear Hunt In B.C. Plans To Plead Guilty: Crown

    Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's Top Priority: End Canada's Combat Mission In Iraq, Syria

    Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's Top Priority: End Canada's Combat Mission In Iraq, Syria
     Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has given new defence minister his marching orders — and Harjit Sajjan's top priority is to end Canada's combat mission in Iraq and Syria.

    Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's Top Priority: End Canada's Combat Mission In Iraq, Syria

    B.C. Challenges College Over Discrimination Finding Against Indo-Canadian Vets

    B.C. Challenges College Over Discrimination Finding Against Indo-Canadian Vets
    The college was ordered to pay each doctor between $2,000 and $35,000 for "injury to dignity," plus thousands of dollars for loss of salaries and expenses.

    B.C. Challenges College Over Discrimination Finding Against Indo-Canadian Vets