There is a virtually unanimous agreement among police forces, academics and policy makers that rates of homicide fell in both Canada and the United States through the 1990s, by about 40 per cent. There is, however, very little consensus with respect to why the homicide rate dropped during this period of time.

In his book “Freakonomics”, University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt is quite clear about what he believes was responsible for the decline and what was not. Levitt rejects the aging of the population, a strong economy, tougher gun-control laws, laws permitting the carrying of concealed weapons, innovative policing strategies, or the increased use of capital punishment as valid explanations for the change. He is probably right about almost all of these factors; there is no good evidence that changes in policing, capital punishment, or gun laws have influenced the declines observed in both Canada and the United States.

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At first glance it seemed a little suspect — the National Parole Board’s granting of full parole to convicted murderer Colin Thatcher. After all, Mr. Thatcher has never confessed to the crime. In fact, he has maintained his innocence for more than 20 years, consistently telling the Board and others that he is not responsible for the killing of his former wife Jo-Ann Wilson. Can a man move forward with his life and can the public be protected, when he does not admit to the crime in question, particularly when it is the brutal murder of a formerly intimate partner?

The best answer to this question is yes. There is little doubt that Mr. Thatcher is responsible for his wife’s death, but he has served his time, and by his own admission he knows his status: a murderer on parole, for life. Little would be served by continuing to imprison Mr. Thatcher. He is not a major risk for re-offence, the state has clearly denounced his conduct through more than 20 years of imprisonment, and others will not be tempted to commit such a crime by the Parole Board’s decision to grant him full parole; the decision is another reminder that locking people up and throwing away the key is seldom a good idea.