Larry Fisher faces new judgment after death, Milgaard lawyer says
David Milgaard spent 23 years in jail after being wrongfully convicted for Fisher's crime
Winnipeg lawyer David Asper calls the death of Larry Fisher notable but not remarkable.
"I think he was a bad guy and he has passed on and I am sure that there are a lot of people who are happy about that, relieved about that," Asper said.
"I am not going to mark it with any kind of celebration or declaration of closure, it is what it is."
Fisher died Tuesday while serving a life sentence at the Pacific Institution in Abbotsford, B.C., for the rape and murder Saskatoon nursing aide Gail Miller in 1969. He was 65.
Fisher wasn't convicted of the crime until 2000, however.
Former Winnipegger David Milgaard spent 23 years in jail after being wrongfully convicted. He was exonerated in 1992.
Asper, who represented David Milgaard during his fight for freedom, said many people have suffered at the hands of Fisher. Milgaard and his family can never get back those 23 years lost because of what Fisher did.
"I think my gut reaction is that the death of Larry Fisher, I guess, is notable but I don't feel that it is particularly remarkable. This was a very bad person who caused a lot of people a lot of harm," Asper said, adding that seeing Fisher's face in the news again "is a bit disturbing."
"You sort of want to put people like that out of your mind. I think it is something that should be allowed to pass into the annals of history and we move on."
For Fisher now, there will be other judgments, Asper said.
"From a secular world perspective what we can hope for is that the law works, and that people who break the law get caught and properly prosecuted and punished appropriately," he said.
"As for their life or death that's for something else, some other judgement to occur."