These killings can't go on

By JOE WARMINGTON

Last Updated: 9th September 2008, 3:11am

The running shoe of Toronto's latest shooting homicide was sticking out from under the orange tarp for hours for all to see.

A disgusting scene for anybody, but it must have been extra traumatic for the children in the area of yesterday's brazen, daylight execution. There is a daycare at Keele and Eglinton, where this murder occurred, and five schools were locked down while a gunman fled the scene.

Some city we have here. We know murder. It's sick. But it's real. And not exactly rare.

In fact, the Sun's reporter on the scene, Marc Kilchling, was telling me it's the second killing he's covered in that neighbourhood this year.

Is all of this okay with you? I mean, why do we tolerate this nonsense?

You think we are going to learn anything from homicide No. 47? Already we're on No. 48, with the woman found dead in North York last night, and by the time we get to 50, forget about it -- No. 47 will be old news.

Everybody but the victim's family, and the overworked homicide cops, will have. And don't be so sure the felon in this vicious attack will be caught and brought to justice any time soon, either. Lord knows his friends won't talk to police.

And let's not forget Toronto Police have more than 20 similar shootings this year that remain unsolved.

We probably won't be bragging about any of those statistics to our guests in town for the Toronto International Film Festival. What happened here yesterday, and what happens dozens of times every year, is a disgrace. It's an embarrassment. And it's out of control.

When the hell is it going to stop? Do we really care?

I'll tell you when you would care. If it happened to you. If it happened to your family. If one of those bullets ricochet and hit some innocent person walking by. Remember Jane Creba or John O'Keefe?

"For me this is the No. 1 election issue," Joe Wamback, founder of the Canadian Crime Victims Foundation, was saying yesterday.

He tells me he's going to push politicians on the campaign trail in the areas of victim's rights, tougher sentencing, reverse onus on parole and ankle bracelet monitoring. In other words, he wants to throw the book at "creeps."

Clearly the social worker approach has failed. A daytime murder at a bus stop is not routine. Who knows, maybe there will never be any so-called justice here.

Wamback -- who waited four years for those charged in the attempted murder of his son, Jonathan, to see a courtroom -- is urging the government to force the courts to move with more haste and to have more compassion toward families who have been victimized.

THE PUBLIC FORGETS

It's a good point. Why do the offenders get all of the consideration?

He likes Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his tough stand on crime, but warns: "I will be on his back to make sure it doesn't get softened."

We will soon learn who this was under the tarp and hear about his family's grief. We may even feel bad for a minute. Then we'll move on.

Angela Williams knows this is true. It was a year ago today she lost her son in a shooting. "It's like people forget," she said. "And the shootings keep on happening."

Each slaying brings it all back for her -- even more difficult today since her son, Ronell, 27, was shot six times after escorting a man out of a birthday party in Brampton.

There will be no moment of silence for him today. No candles or teddy bears. If you drive out to Pine Hills Cemetery, you can see where Ronell Williams lies. "We have a T-shirt at the stone with a picture of him and his 6-year-old daughter Tatianna on it," said his girlfriend, Jen Scott, 23.

Tatianna, 5 at the time, had her father stolen from her. The man charged, Andrew Dexter Bourne, was on parole and even once graced the Sun's front page brandishing a gun.

Another sad factor is this man charged with first-degree murder is still months away from his preliminary hearing, set for March 2009. That means, thanks to defence deferrals, a trial may not conclude until 2010, even though the police and Crown have been ready since January.

Is this working for us, folks? Yeah, a real justice system success story. If we learn anything from this case, perhaps it's to make sure when the system has a person in custody for a violent offence, try to keep them there.

SOMETHING'S FAILING

Some lawyers and civil liberties people won't like it. But there will be fewer corpses -- and fewer tarps needed to cover them.

You know, there have been more than 100 homicides in the GTA since Ronell Williams was murdered last Sept. 9.

Clearly something is not working with the system as is. Picture those feet sticking out from that tarp and tell me different.