In April of 2014, Matthew de Grood attacked and killed five university students at a house party in Calgary.  

In May 2016, de Grood was found not criminally responsible for the killings by reason of a mental disorder.  Now, less than a year and a half after that ruling, the Alberta Review Board (ARB) has said it is in de Grood's best interest to have him transferred to the Alberta Hospital in Edmonton from his current location at the Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre in Calgary.  In Edmonton, de Grood could be granted supervised visits in the community and eventually, could be moved to a halfway house. 

Airdrie MLA and UCP Shadow Justice Critic Angela Pitt and Solicitor General Critic Mike Ellis are demanding that Alberta Justice Minister and Attorney General Kathleen Ganley immediately appeal the ARB's decision to put de Grood "on the fast track to freedom and to end the practice of ignoring the real victims of (his) heinous crime and the families that are left to pick up the pieces."

Pitt says, like many Albertans, the UCP shares the concerns over the board's decision to grant more freedoms to an individual who murdered five people.

"We're calling on the Justice Minister to appeal the decision of the Review Board to loosen up the reins around Matthew de Grood and to have this seriously violent killer walking around on the streets.  The families of the victims, in this case, are taking this particularly hard.  The crime only happened a little while ago."

Pitt says they understand that de Grood was found not criminally responsible, however, "He obviously has some pretty manic, violent tendencies and it's hard to believe that he could be walking around on the streets."

Pitt says it's hard to fathom how the ARB continues to grant him more freedom while ignoring the gruesome nature of the crime and the impact that seeing de Grood on the streets would have on public trust for the justice system.

Pitt says the de Grood case and the recent case of the transfer to a native healing lodge in Saskatchewan of Terri Lynne McClintic, one of the people found guilty of murdering eight-year-old Tori Stafford in Ontario, makes Canadians frustrated by what she calls, "the laissez-faire rulings of the court systems."

"When dangerous, heinous offenders are getting such light sentences or really easy time served type stuff, like healing lodges or day passes as in the case of Matthew de Grood.  Albertans are frustrated.  Not only that but they're fearful.  Decisions like this impact, not only the families of the victims but everyday Albertans, parents in particular.  They already have some many fears going through their minds, they don't need to know that these guys are getting off easy, and they're back on the streets.  It's not okay."

Pitt and Ellis are also calling on the minister to come clean with Albertans on why a high-risk designation has not been applied to an individual who is clearly capable of inflicting violence on citizens at large.  They say the High-Risk Not Criminally Responsible designation was made precisely for cases like Matthew de Grood's. 

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