March 7th, 2010 - B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan says 51 year old Parker Matthias may not have intended to cause his mother's death when he doused her with gasoline and held a lighter close to her.

Did I read that right? Good grief! No wonder the public has lost faith in our courts with statements and findings of this ridiculous nature. What is he thinking about? What other conclusion could a "reasonable" person determine? The accused was just playing with fire for fun?

The accused then says, "I never thought a fire would start. The vapours must have caught, and my mother and her dog were almost instantly engulfed in flames." Do you think?

This case is so insulting to the general public and how the justice could entertain other assumptions shows how much the court can be disconnected from the reality and the citizens it should serve.

I sometimes worry about some of my own conclusions in my Crime Newsletter and Genesis Reports, (http://www.gerryleet.com/) I don't think I will worry anymore with these types of rulings and comments.