TORONTO - “We’re talking about a guy who walked over, put the gun to my brother’s head, and pulled the goddamn trigger,” said Cody Baylis, as he gestures to his own head, his hand mimicking the gun that killed his brother.
It was June 1994. Baylis was in Florida when he learned that his big brother, Toronto Police Constable Todd Baylis had been shot and killed on the job. Todd was just 25 years old at the time and had been chasing after a suspected drug dealer who pulled out a gun and opened fire, shooting him in the head.
Clinton Gayle was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder for shooting Baylis’ partner who survived. Gayle was sentenced to life in prison with no chance at parole for 25 years.
The Baylis family now must appear at a parole hearing every two years. They’ve already had to attend four separate parole reviews.
Speaking to CTV News from his home in Brampton, Ont., Baylis shared his mounting frustration after having to attend yet another hearing this past July, reliving the trauma of losing his brother.
“2019, 2021, 2024, 2026. We’ll have to go back in 2027 or 2028, it’s ridiculous,” said Baylis.
Gayle and others facing life sentences can request a parole hearing every two years, once the initial 25 years of their sentence has been served.
CTV News has obtained a copy of a letter written by the Toronto Police Association, requesting that the federal government increase the time between parole hearings from “five to seven years” and allow judges the power to impose “parole ineligibility periods for up to 35 years” for those convicted of first-degree murder.
This coming January, serial rapist and killer Paul Bernardo will have his fourth parole hearing.
“It’s just pure entertainment for him. He has no remorse,” said trial lawyer Tim Danson.
Danson represents the families of victims Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, who were both murdered by Bernardo. He attends each parole hearing pro bono, to support the Mahaffy and French families.
He still sees a “sadistic, sexual psychopath” in Paul Bernado.
“When he’s asked during a parole review why he would carry out these horrific attacks on these teenage girls he answers by saying ‘well, they weren’t doing what I told them,’” Danson said.
“He answers these questions like you and I would talk about the weather.”
Danson says the French, Mahaffy and Baylis families are all asking for parole reform, and they believe that Canada’s worst convicted killers shouldn’t be allowed to traumatize a family every two years.
Our justice system shouldn’t be one size fits all, we’re not talking about someone “stealing candy from a candy store” said Baylis.
“It’s horrific what the justice system does to victims’ families. They drag us through this process, and I find myself asking why. Well, I’ll tell you, it’s because a killer’s rights are more important that mine, my dead brother’s, yours, or anybody else’s.”
The Toronto Police Association’s letter, sent to multiple members of parliament, says in part that the federal government “committed to us earlier this year that this issue would be addressed in the fall. We are now two weeks into September, and with the latest news about Paul Bernardo, the issue could not be more urgent.”
The Department of Justice has not responded to a request for comment.
