Derik Lord has been granted day parole almost 30 years after a grisly double murder in Tsawwassen.
Following a review by the Parole Board of Canada, Lord has been granted day parole for a four-month period.
The review took place on March 10 and was released to the Optimist on Tuesday morning.
After 27 years behind bars, Lord, one of three teenagers convicted in a 1990 double murder, was once again denied day parole following a hearing last September, but in January a review of that decision was initiated.
That review concluded Lord would not present an undue risk to society if released on day parole.
The board said it took into account Lord’s positive institutional behaviour, how he has embraced his native heritage, and how he has made gradual progress throughout his sentence.
“A day parole release will support you in continuing to build on the gains and success you have seen so far,” wrote the board.
The board has imposed a number of conditions that Lord must abide by, including:
* No direct or indirect contact with the deceased victims’ families, including extended family members and Crown witnesses
* Not to travel to Vancouver Island or the Lower Mainland
* Not to associate with any person you know or have reason to believe is involved in criminal activity and/or substance abuse
* Follow treatment plan/program to be arranged by parole supervisor in the areas of personal emotional orientation, violence and issues related to reintegration.
“These conditions are reasonable and necessary in order to protect society and to facilitate your successful reintegration into society,” wrote the board. “These conditions relate directly to your risk to reoffend and are related to your need for interventions. As such, these conditions are imposed for the duration of your day parole, or until the board removes or modifies them.”
Lord will be residing at a community residential facility where he had previously participated in two work releases to complete vocational training and practice the skills he learned. Overnight leave has not been authorized.
“The facility will allow you to continue to participate in cultural ceremonies, programs, develop community supports and prepare release plans for the future,” stated the board.
Lord and David Muir were hired by Darren Huenemann to kill his mother, Sharon Huenemann, and grandmother, Doris Leatherbarrow, in a murder-for-hire plot for an inheritance.
All three were convicted in 1992.
The three teens lived in Saanich at the time of the murders and at trial the prosecution argued that on Oct. 5, 1990, Huenemann and his girlfriend dropped Lord and Muir off at the ferry terminal.
The pair then went to Leatherbarrow's Tsawwassen home and, after being invited in for dinner by the two women, bludgeoned and stabbed them to death. The two teens then took the ferry home and were picked up by Huenemann and his girlfriend.
Lord, now 46, and Muir were both sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. Huenemann received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
After his conviction, Muir, who pleaded not guilty at trial, admitted his role in the murders and has been out on parole for almost two decades. He was granted day parole in April 2002 and full parole a year later.
Huenemann appeared before the parole board at his Quebec prison for the first time two years ago at which time his parole request was denied.
Lord continues to insist he is innocent.
