Content area
Full text
More anger over Section 745, this time in Saskatoon Nineteen years after he helped murder RCMP Constable Brian King and dump his body in the South Saskatchewan River, Darrel Luke Crook wants to be let out of jail early. For his crime, Crook received a life sentence with no parole for 25 years. But two weeks ago, he applied for early release under Section 745 of the Criminal Code. The so-called "faint hope" clause allows convicted killers a parole review after serving just 15 years. On the night of April 24, 1978, Crook and a buddy, Gregory Fischer, then aged 18 and 19 respectively, boasted at a party in Lloydminster that they intended to capture a "blue boy" and display him as a trophy to their friends. Drunk, the two headed for Saskatoon in a dirty, beat-up 1964 Rambler after removing the car's rear license plate as bait. They were initially stopped by two policemen and decided to put the plate back on and bide their time. Let off with a warning about faulty tail and head lights, Fischer and Crook took the plate off again and were subsequently stopped by Const. King just outside Saskatoon. The 40-year-old officer was working alone that night. As the policeman approached the Rambler, Crook threw a pair of beer bottles into the ditch. When Const. King went to collect them, the two men left the car and jumped him. During a struggle, Crook managed to grab the officer's .38 calibre service revolver and take him prisoner, binding him with his own handcuffs. Leaving the cruiser with its lights flashing, the two stashed the constable in the Rambler's trunk and took off to a friend's house to show off their prize. The friend was not home, so Crook and Fischer headed for a spot on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River on the southern edge of Saskatoon. They made the constable kneel at the river's edge. Then Crook shot Const. King, a father of three small children, in the head from two feet away. After the officer fell to the ground, Crook shot him again in the head from point-blank range before smashing his head with the pistol and crushing his skull. Crook and Fischer dumped his body in the water and left. A manhunt turned up the two killers within hours. Crook pleaded insanity, but both he and Fischer were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. Fischer recently had hissentence reduced by two years under Section 745. So far, about 80% of the 60-plus killers who have applied for reduced sentences have been successful. On January 5, a Section 745 hearing began in Saskatoon to decide if Crook should also get his time behind bars reduced, a proceeding which could take as long as three weeks. Reform Party justice critic Art Hanger, a former police officer, is appalled by the prospect of the shooter getting out early. "This whole thing is a charade and a circus," he says. "[Crook] murdered another man and he's been sentenced already. Why should he be allowed out before his sentence is up?" Marie King-Forest, Const. King's widow, is attending the Crook hearings. She could not be reached for comment last week. But after Fischer won his sentence reduction, she told CPA Express, the magazine of the Canadian Police Association: "How can it be that my family is forced to go through this all again? This is wrong. He was sentenced to life with no parole for 25 years as the penalty for killing Brian. There should be no short cuts." --Davis Sheremata