Karla Leanne Homolka

The Crimes of Karla Leanne Homolka

The wrong people are renowned for Karla Leanne Homolka. Karla, a Canadian citizen who was born on May 4th, 1970, attracted notice from all over the world for the rape and murder of several young girls. Because of this incident, she was identified as a serial murderer. (Stephen, 2014). Karla and her ex-husband Paul Bernardo were found to have participated in the aforementioned crimes as co-conspirators. After accepting a plea deal for the rape as well as the killings of Leslie, Kristen, and her sister Tammy Homolka, Karla was found guilty of homicide. (Egan, 2016 ). Records indicate that the killings for which she was found guilty occurred in 1991 and 1992. (Butts, 2016).

Restitution in the Criminal Justice System

According to the criminal justice system, restitution refers to a kind of payment or compensation by the offender to the victim (United States Department of Justice, 2015). This amount is given as a result of the harm caused to the victim by the actions of the defendant. Under normal circumstances, courts can compel the convicted individuals to pay restitution to the offended persons as part of their sentence. In particular crimes, for instance, in a violent felony, courts can order restitution. However, other serious offenses can also call for compensation. Restitution typically caters for losses that are directly linked to the offense, for example, medical expenses, prescription costs, counseling cost, remuneration, travel expenses, insurance, lost and damaged belongings as well as crime scene clean-up, among others. It is important to note that restitution does not cover aspects such as pain, suffering, or distress but only things that can be billed (McConnell & McConnell, 2014).

Thoughts on Karla’s Restitution

If Karla was not caught and convicted, then, in my opinion, she should have been entitled to receiving compensation (Dimanno, 2016). This move is fair simply because she would incur some of the above-cited losses that can be compensated (Riga, 2016). For instance, there are costs attached to visit a counselor concerning trauma treatment and also the medical treatment for the alleged physical and sexual abuse from her husband.

References

Butts, E. (2016, June 20). Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka Case. Retrieved from The Canadian Encyclopedia: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-bernardo-and-karla-homolka-case/

Dimanno, R. (2016, April 21). Karla Homolka cunning in her manipulations: DiManno. Retrieved from The Star: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/04/21/karla-homolka-cunning-in-her-manipulations-dimanno.html

Egan, L. (2016 , August 4). The Ken & Barbie Killers: Where Is Karla Homolka Today? Retrieved from CrimeFeed: http://crimefeed.com/2016/08/the-ken-barbie-killers-where-is-karla-homolka-today/

McConnell, J.A. & McConnell, H.E. (2014, 22 January). The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Retrieved from Wiley Online Library: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118517383.wbeccj314/references

Riga, A. (2016, April 20). Karla Homolka timeline: key evidence about her role in crimes discovered after plea bargain. Retrieved from Montreal Gazette: http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/karla-homolka-timeline-key-evidence-about-her-role-in-crimes-discovered-after-plea-bargain

Stephen, W. (2014, September 29). Karla Homolka. Retrieved from Law and Disorder: https://stephenwms.wordpress.com/tag/karla-homolka/

United States Department of Justice. (2015, April 17). Understanding Restitution. Retrieved from United States Department of Justice: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/victim-witness-assistance/understanding-restitution