Newfoundland man who stabbed wife 33 times granted temporary parole
Llewelyn Nippard permitted 60-day leave as well as separate three-day leave
A Newfoundland man who stabbed his wife 33 times has been granted a temporary leave from prison after spending more than three decades behind bars.
Llewelyn Nippard attacked Nellie Nippard in July 1990, stabbing her repeatedly in the arms, face, neck and back.
Despite all efforts to murder her, Nellie Nippard survived the attack, and went on to become a high-profile victims' rights advocate whose work led to changes in how parole hearings are held.
Llewelyn Nippard was handed a life sentence, but began applying for parole in 2001. He was denied several times, deemed at high risk to re-offend against a romantic partner.
The Parole Board of Canada, in a Nov. 26 decision, permitted him two temporary unescorted absences from prison: one 72-hour leave for administrative reasons, and another 60-day leave for "personal development for rehabilitative purposes," according to the parole board decision document.
Nippard is now in his mid-70s and is serving an indeterminate sentence for attempted murder and several other related charges.
As recently as October, he was considered at moderate risk to engage in intimate partner violence, but the parole board noted Nippard has completed required programming and has the support of his oldest daughter.
Nippard's parole conditions require him to stay away from drugs and alcohol and report any romantic or non-romantic relationships with women.
In its decision, the parole board described how Nippard became controlling and jealous several years into his marriage to Nellie. Eventually, she left him; several months later, Nippard attacked her, enraged and drunk, while she was visiting a friend.
"The jealousy you expressed was characterized as inordinate, bordering on paranoid. When the victim became more assertive, your behaviours intensified," the board wrote.
"You lacked the emotional maturity to work through the demise of the relationship, something your behaviours caused."
Nellie Nippard, who survived the attack but died of cancer in 2003, is credited with raising the profile of victims' rights across the country.
She helped convince Ottawa to let victims sit in on the parole hearings of those who victimized them, and helped pressure the federal government to let victims read a prepared statement at those hearings. That right came into effect in 2001.
The board says Nippard's motivation and accountability have been assessed as high, and says he has a moderate potential to reintegrate into society.
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