Thatcher to get taste of freedom 23 years after ex-wife's murder

Former Saskatchewan politician and convicted killer Colin Thatcher will taste freedom three days at a time.

Thatcher, who has spent more than 21 years in prison for the 1983 murder of his ex-wife, went before a National Parole Board panel in Winnipeg on Friday seeking 72-hour passes to visit his family.

After a two-hour hearing, the panel deliberated for 45 minutes and granted his wish. That means he is eligible to be out of prison without an escort for up to three days at a stretch.

Thatcher showed little emotion but shook hands with the three panel members and told them he will never do anything to cause them to regret their decision.

He sought the passes so he can leave the minimum-security Rockwood Institution just outside of Winnipeg to visit his family.

He plans to use two passes in the next two months to visit his son Regan, who lives in Winnipeg, and another in May to spend a weekend at his ranch outside Moose Jaw, where his eldest son, Greg, lives.

• FROM THE CBC ARCHIVES: Ex-wife of Colin Thatcher murdered

JoAnn Wilson's body was found in the garage of her Regina home on Jan. 21, 1983. The 43-year-old woman had been bludgeoned 47 times with a sharp instrument before being shot in the head.

Thatcher was a member of the Saskatchewan legislature who had resigned as the Conservative energy minister four days before Wilson died.

For four years leading up to the murder, Wilson and Thatcher had been involved in a bitter struggle over the terms of their divorce and child custody agreement.

A previous attempt on Wilson's life in May of 1981 had failed. A rifle bullet shot through her window hit her in the shoulder but did not kill her.

• INDEPTH: Colin Thatcher timeline

Thatcher always denied he killed his former wife. That's one of the reasons he has not succeeded in two past attempts to win early parole, by using the "faint hope" application process for those serving life sentences.

Without an admission of guilt, corrections officials say, there can be no real rehabilitation.

The same reason was cited just over a year ago when a panel rejected Thatcher's first request for unescorted 72-hour passes.

Thatcher will be back before the parole board in May, asking for day parole and requesting a date for another full parole hearing.