It's a zombie apocalypse underway in crime

A naked man leans over his nude victim tearing chunks of flesh from his face with his teeth which he readily consumes. An officer approaches and orders the crazed man to get off the victim, the man looks up at the officer blood dripping from his face and growls like a wild animal then continues to devour the victim. This is not a horror film, it's a macabre attack in Miami that some people are understandably calling the start of a zombie apocalypse. Grab your, uh, popcorn. 

More abbreviated justice in society via the abuse excuse

Jeremy Steinke

By Malcolm McColl

Accused of a ghastly murder? Evidence stacked against you? Is your defence council struggling to find any redeeming qualities that humanize you? Don’t panic, there is another get-out-of-jail card to play. No, you can't call the Human Rights Act because courts have yet to recognize the human right to commit homicide. But you can try another fashionable legal device: the plea that you were abused as a child and therefore cannot be held responsible for your actions as an adult.

We might call it the abuse excuse, or perhaps - given that parents are usually blamed for the abuse - the Mother of All Mitigating Circumstances. It is a confession, not of your own sins, but the sins of somebody else from your past. You are not really seeking forgiveness, since you do not accept that anything is your fault. Instead, you demand recognition that you, too, are a victim, a ‘survivor’ in need not of punishment but of support.

And it is not just high-profile, low-life murder cases. The abuse excuse has become a staple argument, almost a fashion statement, for any public figure in need of sympathy. Why did rock musician Pete Townshend access pay-per-view child pornography websites? Because: ‘I believe that I was sexually abused between the ages of five and six and a half ... I cannot remember clearly what happened.’ Why was President Bill Clinton such a philanderer? Because, explained his wife, he was ‘scarred’ by psychological abuse at the age of four.

No doubt many of these people are telling the truth. But why should it now be so readily accepted that childhood abuse can automatically explain what happens in later life? Whereas, once it might have been thought that people would leave these childish horrors behind as they grow and learn coping mechanisms to lead a good and moral life, now the belief seems to be that there can be no escape from traumas suffered as a toddler or teenager and the pains of childhood should be inflicted on others.

What makes the abuse excuse attractive to the accused is the displacement of responsibility. Since you cannot change what was done to you in the past, how can you reasonably be blamed for whatever your childhood drives you to now? What makes the excuse resonate more widely, however, is our diminished view of the human condition. As a society, we seem to have lost faith in the capacity of individuals to overcome adversity and try to shape their destinies. A culture in which it is assumed that we are victims of forces beyond our control, where we are all experiencing diminished responsibility for our lives, provides fertile ground for the abuse excuse. No matter what happens these degrading appeals seem set to continue.

It is a syndrome that more and more attorneys are using when they explain the aberrant behaviour of the accused, telling the court why the crime was committed and indeed why the accused is expecting to get away with it. The abuse excuse gets abused itself, as seen when Jeremy Steinke tried to explain why he committed the Richardson family murders in Medicine Hat, except he wasn't the one being abused. He said it was his then-12 year old girlfriend and accomplice being abused, that she became the youngest mass murderer in Canadian history because of the treatment she received in the household. Thankfully the court rejected Steinke's defence, and rightly so, basically rebutting the abuse excuse as described by legal scholar Alan Dershowitz, a "legal invitation to vigilantism."

The abuse excuse gives us the reason an accused cannot tell right from wrong - responsibility for actions go out the door. The abuse excuse was the reason parole was a free pass for Darnell Pratt who killed in the act of stealing $12 worth of gas to fuel a stolen vehicle, scurrilously ending the life of young gas station attendant Grant DePatie by dragging himfor 7 km in the undercarriage of the stolen vehicle. He continues to claim that a childhood spent in the revolving door of foster care created the Pratt that society must deal with today, problems he doesn't necessarily see in himself. His defence appeared to be holding sway as he ran amok in the parole system to be set completely free in July 2012.

The abuse excuse gives us all reason to commit a crime once we clearly make our accusations against our abusers, but since we have all been abused in someway over the course of our lives, the abuse excuse may be doing a major job abbreviating justice in present day society.

Alberta peace officer’s grisly death in the line of duty

A bold and inviting sign, amongst the grass and sporadic trees, reads "Tangled Spur Ranch." Below it a small green model tractor, its red flag lowered downwards.This ranch is close to the community of Priddis just outside of Calgary, Canada. For Southern Alberta bylaw officer and former Mountie, Rod Lazenby, 62, it was just another day at work on Friday, August, 10th, 2012. He could not have suspected that today someone lay in wait for him,that he was part of a dispute that would lead to his death.

Trevor Kloschinsky 46, had ongoing disagreements with his neighbours ."I said you can leave now and don’t come back," said one neighbour, "He was erratic and foul mouthed, you couldn’t guess if he would do one thing or another." For a few months there had been a number of complaints made about the dogs at the acreage, Kloschinsky is said to believe these complaints were made by a neighbour who wanted to sell his own property.

Kloschinsky had somewhat of an obsession for breeding dogs, he had 30 Australian Cattle dogs (estimated) commonly nicknamed "Blue Heelers" at his rented ranch. He was often visited in response to calls about noise disturbances and had numerous animal and property-related complaints lodged against him. "They didn’t bark unless you went near them," said the Ranch owner Bruce Adams, who had himself been visited and probably cited by Lazenby.

Blue Heelers have a distinct and intense high-pitched bark but usually only bark when alarmed or as a sign of boredom to draw attention. They are a medium-sized dog. Wayne Ryder, a previous landlord of Kloschinsky, court-evicted him from a ranch west of Turner Valley because his dogs barked at all hours and he received numerous complaints from the neighbours."They are always barking and never go outside," said Chuck Caswell who lived close by.

"Theres no reason to have so many dogs,unless your a hoarder," said a dog breeder in Priddis.
  
Kloschinsky was a loner and a volatile man, RCMP were aware of this, unfortunately their concerns regarding this were not passed on to Foothills peace officers. Rod Lazenby who responded to a noise complaint, arrived at the Ranch unarmed. Peace Officers are not permitted to use guns. Hidden amongst the trees, Kloschinsky allegedly ambushed Lazenby on arrival. Lazenby was then handcuffed and severely beaten.

Lazenby had worked for the RCMP for over 35 years as an undercover officer and homicide detective, he had retired in 1996 then taken a job as a Peace Officer to be closer to his daughter. "He did some very unique and dangerous work," said Mike Butcher, former RCMP colleague and best friend. He was a quiet respecful man who showed understanding to people of all walks of life. Lazenby was a regular community volunteer, he was once the mascot for the Ototok Oilers hockey team. Lazenby had spent his life dedicated to locking up dangerous criminals and was highly trained. According to the City Of Calgary, Peace Officers are also "trained in conflict resolution and mediation to better assist with neighbourhood issues." Nonetheless Lazenby was ill equipped for the events that took place that day.

After allegedly beating Lazenby within an inch of his life,Kloschinsky then drove his victim to a South Calgary police station in a SUV claiming to have captured a person who wanted to "steal his dogs." Sources suggest some of Kloschinky’s dogs had been seized in the past. Lazenby was described as being in severe "medical distress" and was rushed to RockyView General Hospital, Calgary but died on the way to the hospital from his injuries. He left behind a devastated wife and daughter, he also had a grandson he was devoted to.

 The RCMP charged Kloschinsky with first degree murder, on August 15, 2012, he made his first court appearance briefly to answer questions about his mental fitness. Kloschinsky, a large built man, heavily bearded with glasses may have seemed menacing as he faced the court had it not been for the handcuffs and shackles. He was however polite to the judge and thanked him before leaving the stand. A mental fitness assessment cannot be conducted until Kloschinsky has secured a legal representative. Crown Prosecutor Jim Sawa told reporters, "We are concerned that Mr Kloschinsky have legal representative. . . until we see the police material I cannot disclose anymore."

The Calgary Humane society offered its condolences, emailing the CBC, "Its a stark realisation at the capacity of risk these officers take to protect the welfare of animals everyday" Kloschinsky’s dogs are still at the property and "still barking " according to a neighbour. They are being cared for by the SPCA who are ensuring they have plenty of food and water but it is not yet known what will happen to them in the future and if they will need rehoming in light of Kloschinsky’s arrest.

Lazenby was a level 2 Peace Officer as such he was not even equipped with pepper spray or a baton. Alberta Solictor General stated that considering changing the equipment given to Peace officers is something the department will be doing after this investigation.