WOMEN AGAINST POVERTY COLLECTIVE: NOW Magazine on Abandonment Issues

"One of the best ways to put poverty issues on the agenda is to threaten to take away rich people's stuff."
Read NOW's coverage of a discussion about abandoned housing stock in Toronto.

Articles

Man who beat wives dangerous offender
One woman testifies he hit her up to 1,000 times
TheStar.com - GTA

July 13, 2007
Peter Small
Courts Bureau

A man who terrorized and savagely beat his spouses, sending one to her grave, has been declared a dangerous offender, meaning he has been jailed indefinitely.

"No treatment has served to control Mr. (Ian) Bell's behaviour," Superior Court Justice Peter Jarvis said yesterday, rejecting a defence plan to have him eventually released into tight supervision.

It is rare for Canada's most serious sanction to be imposed for someone not convicted of sex crimes.

Before he was sentenced Bell, 45, apologized for his serial spousal abuse. "I feel terrible," he said.

In 1993, he beat his wife, Cassandra Hawke, to death. A pathologist said she had the worst beating he had ever seen in his 27-year career.

In 2004, Bell was convicted of assault causing bodily harm to his latest wife, Kate Bell. It is for this crime that he was sentenced yesterday, but his history was examined to determine if he is too dangerous to ever be let free.

The Toronto man's first wife, Jacqueline Bell, testified that she was terrified of him during their nine-year marriage. He beat her up as many as 1,000 times, choking her to the point of blacking out, and breaking her arm when she was pregnant, she told Crown prosecutor David Mitchell at the hearing.

Helen Wilson, a former girlfriend, said she is "still afraid of Ian," and "of the anger he is capable of."

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Derek Pallandi said Bell's risk of re-offending is very high.

Defence lawyer Arun Maini said an appeal would be considered.

Housing Takeover Endorsers

Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations
Health Care Providers Against Poverty
Low Income Families Together (Lift)
Northeastern Unit of Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
Parkdale Community Legal Services
Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO)
Step It Up Ontario!
Teachers of St. Pat's Elementary Separate School
The Income Security Advocacy Centre
The Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH)
Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC)
Toronto Secondary Unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (TSU-OECTA)
Yosher, the Jewish Social Justice Network

Take Action!

Join us once again to support Francesca in court...

When: Wednesday August 15 10 am
Where: College Park Courts, 2nd floor (take the elevator from the basement level) Rm 505

Francesca Nocera's court appearance for her obstruct police charge from the June 3rd action was postponed from Tuesday August 14th to August 15th at 10AM.

If you missed out this morning or if you want to join us in what will probably be a positive result for Francesca and the Collective as a whole then please come out same time, same place on Wednesday August 15th 10AM rm 505 (you need to take the elevator from the basement in College Park to the 2nd floor, then go through security and to rm 505 down the hall on the left side).

Hope to see you all there for what we hope will be a herstoric success in wimmins activism!

Women Against Poverty Collective Meeting

When: Thursday August 23rd 5:30pm
Where: Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (APUS) 100 Devonshire - Just South of Bloor and one block East of St. George.

Come out to take part in planning future events/actions to win safe affordable housing for women, transfolks and our kids and to participate in our community art project! TTC available. Kids welcome, we can take turns providing childcare.

WOMEN AGAINST POVERTY COLLECTIVE

Saturday, November 10, 2007

NOW Magazine on Abandonment Issues

0 comments:

About Us

Articles

Housing Takeover Endorsers

Take Action!