This time of year I love getting into the theme of Halloween, with goblins, witches and monsters. It’s unfortunate that this happens to be the month when real-life-monster Russell Williams is being tried for 88 violent charges, including the sexual assaults and murders of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd. He has ruined the usually happy and playful time of year I look forward to every year. 

Instead it’s been a sobering week as evidence has been displayed in court to the horrified and traumatized families involved. I’ve wondered everyday as more and more details come out, why, if he plead guilty, are the families being put through this?

The most disturbing of the details I found, is that after he committed some of his crimes, he returned to the community where he was a trusted and respected member of the Canadian Forces. 

After one crime, he dropped the puck at a hockey game in Belleville, Ont., where children, both girls and boys, probably looked at this man as a leader, a role model, and with great respect. 

As a member of the Canadian Forces, we expected him to protect our country from evil, but that position may have been what allowed him to go on with his own diabolical crimes for longer. Who would suspect someone of such advanced rank?

The absolute worst part of all this, is he was sentenced to two life terms, 10 years for each sexual assault that were separate from the murders, and a year for every break and enter charge, to be served concurrently. That means Williams will spend 25 years in prison before he can apply for parole. At that time the families left behind by this monster will be forced to stand up in front of a parole board, revamp the victim impact statements they crafted through tears and read on Oct. 20, and do it all over again. They will again hear what happened to their loved ones; again hear what he did with them after they were deceased, and again re-live how he slipped back into the community he was so involved in and began life again, until the sexual fetishes he couldn’t control took over once again.

Williams has proven that there really is evil in the world, and honestly, set a little bit of quiet fear in me all the way in Jasper. Walking home the other night from a Girl Guides meeting, I took the long way around Patricia Street to my home, instead of slipping through the alleyway off of Hazel Ave. I’m not scared of the people of Jasper, but what Williams did to these women unfortunately has proven to me that even people in the highest positions of trust can have shady secrets.

He has taught me that I really must be careful about the freedoms I enjoy, and to not take them for granted. I wish this lesson had not been forced on me in such a gruesome way.

DISCLAIMER: The Last Word is an opinion column, it is meant to provoke thought and debate. As such, any opinions written here are the writers own and do not reflect the viewpoint of any other Fitzhugh staff member or the directors of the Jasper Media Group Inc.