The family of a slain Kelowna, B.C., woman is expressing disappointment in the wake of changes announced to Canada’s bail system.
“It absolutely does not go far enough in terms of intimate partner violence,” said Debbie Henderson, Bailey’s aunt and the family’s spokesperson. “We’re pretty disappointed.”
Bailey McCourt, a mother of two, was beaten to death in July.
Her ex-husband, James Plover, was charged with second-degree murder.
Plover was convicted of a domestic violence charge hours before but was released.
On Thursday, Canada’s justice minister announced tougher bail and sentencing laws are on the way.
“We are going to change the criminal law to ensure the bail system isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Sean Fraser said.
One of the proposed changes involves “reverse onus” bail hearings for certain offences, including strangulation and choking.
It will require the offender to prove why they’re safe to be released into the community, instead of prosecution having to make a case for keeping them behind bars.
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“My hope is that means that what happened to Bailey will never happen again in this province or this country,” said Niki Sharma, B.C.’s Attorney General.
But Henderson isn’t as hopeful.
“What is the hurdle that an individual has to cross in order to prove that they’re safe to go out into this community?” she asked.
“We find that concerning because then it leaves it … to be open to interpretation.”
Calling it Bailey’s Law, the family wants to see stronger legislative changes including GPS monitoring of offenders, a domestic violence offenders registry and presumptive first-degree murder charges when there’s a history of intimate partner violence.
Until those changes are made, said an emotional Henderson, more lives will continue being lost.
“It’s so hard to watch the news and see this is still happening to others,” Henderson said choking back tears.
“It crushes us and it makes the grieving a lot harder.”
The family says they will continue to advocate for Bailey’s Law to try and spare others from having to endure the same type of pain.
“When you see a loved one in the condition Bailey was in, you can’t get that out of your head. That’ll never go away,” Henderson said.
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