(GLYNN BROTHEN / iNFOnews.ca)
October 16, 2019 - 7:30 AM
KAMLOOPS, B.C. - A woman who set her two children on fire 22 years ago, killing one of them, has been granted full parole.
However, the Parole Board of Canada says Donna Hysop of Kamloops, B.C., is still not admitting responsibility for her crimes.
Hysop, now 52, was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted murder for the incident in March 1997 that killed her five-year-old daughter and left her three-year-old son seriously injured and disfigured.
Hysop was first granted day parole in March 2018 when the board concluded she was at a low risk to reoffend.
According to a parole board decision dated Sept. 27, 2019, Hysop initially told people she had tried to kill herself and her children, but later claimed the fire was accidental.
The board says she still denies setting the fire deliberately but tells Hysop, "you have in your own way taken responsibility by engaging in your correctional plan," adding that she has participated in counselling and programs while incarcerated.
Hysop's day parole conditions mandated she return to her halfway house in the Lower Mainland every night, and stay 100 kilometres away from her son.
In granting full parole, the board noted Hysop's case management team recommended expanding her freedoms.
The decision imposes several conditions, including staying away from children under 14 and staying outside a 100-kilometre radius of Salmon Arm, B.C., where her son lives. (CFJC)
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2019.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019