No day parole for Samantha Walsh's killer
A man serving a life sentence for the murder of a 13-year-old girl has decided not to seek day parole.
Michael Lewis was convicted of strangling Samantha Walsh at a cabin in Fleur de Lys in February, 2000 when he was 16-years-old.
Lewis is currently at the Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick. He was scheduled for a day parole hearing on Friday, but the Parole Board of Canada said Lewis "chose not to go ahead with the hearing."
The next steps are up to Lewis, said a Parole Board spokesperson. The options are to either postpone the parole board hearing or waive his right to make a parole board application.
In 2007, Lewis applied for parole and was turned down, when the National Parole Board ruled that he was still a risk to reoffend. In November 2010, Lewis was granted three 72-hour passes, and started spending time at a halfway house in Nova Scotia.
In November, Millie Walsh, Samantha's mother, said the thought of Lewis being free was fear-inducing.
"When he's out into society... I just feel fearful for myself, for my family, for all his friends at that time, " said an emotional Walsh.
The Walsh family has said in the past they believe Lewis should never be let out.
