The Murderers

Steven Kummerfield and Alex Ternowetsky were university students who decided to get a prostitute one night. Unbeknownst to Pamela, one of the them was hiding in the trunk and jumped out to beat her. The two men only got sentenced to 6.5 years on the case of manslaughter. They beat an Aboriginal woman to death so badly that her body couldn't be displayed to loved ones for an open casket, and it wasn't even considered murder in the court of law. 

Racism is prominent in court cases. The white defendants were given slack because of their inebriation at the time of the assault, however this is not a valid excuse for even beating someone, let alone leaving them to die. White privilege in Canadian law shines through in this case. Incarceration rates of Aboriginal individuals are much higher than Caucasians, even to this day. 

 Kummerfield got early parole less than 4 years after being convicted. 


                        Clip from Maclean's Article by DALE EISLER, DECEMBER 16 1996



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