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Show EM&fcEsiii,iet 4 A T researchers are investigating effects of new drug on diabetes U. v ibJU than insulin treated patients, Chronicle News Writer she said. "Once people go on insulin, Overweight diabetic patients may be able to lose weight by Woodworth explained. The study will treat patients, not only with medication, but BY AMY KENNEY Canadian, U.S. journalists clash on secrecy in court Canada Even on a continent numbed by the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer and Night Stalker Richard Ramirez, the story unfolding at the trial here of Paul Bernardo, a boyish, bookkeeper, is striking in its depravity. To begin with, there was his alleged accomplice, then-wif- e Karla who assisted Bernardo in Homolka, 23, prosecutors say kidnapping, girls. In a controversial plea bargain struck molesting and killing teen-ag- e last summer, Homolka was convicted of two counts of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years in prison. She could be out on parole in as few as four years. Now she is expected to be the crucial prosecution witness Bernardo has pleaded innocent to nine counts, against her including murder, sexual assault and kidnapping. Then there is the mysterious death of Homolka's sister, Tammy, on Christmas Eve, 1990. Authorities initially wrote it off as an accident but exhumed the body for after Bernardo's 1993 arrest. Last Tuesday prosecutors charged Bernardo with manslaughter and aggravated sexual assault in Tammy's death. What may be most startling about this case, is the secrecy enshrouding it. For nearly a year, the Canadian media have been prohibited from reporting all that they know including the details of Homolka's confession and what authorities now believe really happened to Tammy. The courts have enforced the publication ban under Canadian laws protecting an accused's right to a jury untainted by pretrial publicity. The delay in is far from unprecedented here, but it has stirred debate and even defiance. Prosecutors have been accused of using the prohibition to screen themselves from criticism over their deal with Homolka. The proximity of St. Catharines to the United States it's just a few miles from Niagara Falls has complicated the issue. The American media have reported far more complete accounts of the evidence than have been published here. And while U.S. newspapers and broadcasts are beyond the reach of Canadian courts, in an era of global communications, they are well within the grasp of Canadians, illustrating how hard it can be for Canada to protect its laws and traditions from American encroachment. Nicknamed "The Ken and Barbie Killers" by the tabloids for their blond good looks, Bernardo and Homolka met while she was still in high school in this city of 120,000 on Lake Ontario. The couple were married June 29, 1991, and the ceremony was dedicated to the memory of Leslie Tammy. On the same day, the dismembered body of Mahaffy, encased in concrete, was pulled from a reservoir south of town. It was later determined she had been sexually assaulted and strangled Kristen French was abducted while Ten months later, school. Her home from walking body was discovered in a ditch two weeks afterward. Police concluded that she had been held captive and sexually assaulted until shortly before her body was dumped. Detectives made little apparent progress until January, 1993, when officers were summoned to hear a domestic violence complaint by Karla Homolka Bernardo. She told them her husband had struck her with a flashlight, but she didn't stop with that. After listening to Homolka, investigators arrested Bernardo as the suspect in the murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. It was not until May, 1993, however, after protracted negotiations between Homolka's lawyer and the Ontario attorney general's office, that Bernardo was formally charged. His trial began here May 4 and is expected to last up to a year. Homolka was convicted of two counts of manslaughter in a brief trial last summer that resulted in the publication ban, which, in an unexpected twist, was sought by the prosecution and opposed by Bernardo's lawyers. On July 5, Judge Francis Kovacs excluded the general public and American reporters from the courtroom where Homolka entered her plea. He permitted Canadian journalists to remain but prohibited them from reporting what they heard. What followed behind closed doors was a recitation of the evidence against Homolka, an account so gruesome even veteran police officers and crime reporters were visibly shaken, according to some of those present. A detailed account appeared last November in the Washington Post, written by Toronto-base- d correspondent Anne Swardson. Based on "interviews with people knowledgeable about what was said in the courtroom, and on press reports," the account disclosed that the evidence read at Homolka's trial included the information that she had drugged her sister with an animal tranquilizer and joined with Bernardo in a sexual assault on the girl while she was unconscious. Tammy Homolka started vomiting afterward and choked to death. To protest the information blackout, retired Canadian police officer Gordon Domm embarked on a campaign of civil disobedience. He was charged with contempt of court in one of the instances, and a trial is d scheduled for Monday. Domm, a agitator for tougher criminal sentences, dismisses assertions that the ban is intended to preserve Bernardo's rights. "The real reason is to cover up the severity of the crime to prevent public outcry over the light sentence (given Homolka),"' Domm asserted in an interview. "Doesn't the public have a right to know so it can judge whether justice was done?" Among the unanswered questions: "How important is Homolka's testimony to the prosecution? Was she a battered wife, forced into these acts by her husband, or a willing participant? Why was she not charged in Tammy's death? Exactly how often Canadian courts impose publication restrictions is unclear. "There are no statistics on this," said Robert Martin, law professor at the University of Western Ontario. "One of the problems of doing any research of criminal justice in Canada is the appalling state of criminal ' " . statistics here...There are no clear definitions and no clear numbers. "I'm of the view that it's often useful to send a wake-u- p call to' reporters that they are subject to the law. One of the real problems with this case is we're being asked to choose between the arrogance of - " reporters and the pomposity of judges." ST. CATHARINES, participating research in involving a drug that reduces the amount of fat absorbed from a person's diet. Utah of University are researchers looking for men and women overweight who have type II, or adult-onse- t, diabetes. Participants rarely do they get off," with behavior modification. Although the new drug inhibits the absorption of fat in the GI tract, it "...doesn't mean that individuals should eat unre- - "Once people go on insulin, rarely do they will be given a new drug that off, " Woodworth reduces the amount of fat get absorbed into the body from explained. Many times, type II diabetes is associated with weight prob- stricted amounts of fat while the medication. taking Participants will be asked to reduce the fat in their diets along with taking the medication," according to Paul Reber, director of the Diabetes Clinic foods. lems, said Jill Woodworth, study research coordinator. Participants must be currently being treated with pills, not insulin shots. Patients who are taking pills have more stable and easier to control sugars at the U. Hospital. "People don't realize how sugar and fat are used to enhance the taste of food," Woodworth said. Participants in the study will be expected to decrease their fat intake to 30 percent of their total calories. "This isn't really strict...it's what's recommended." The drug being used has been tested before with obese patients and was non-diabet- shown to assist in weight reduction of several pounds per month. The same results are expected for the upcoming diabetic study. Patients can gain benefits by participating in the study. They can "improve their overall, general health, better control their diabetic medication...and benefit from all the other things that come from controlling weight, like increased Woodworth said. Anyone wishing to bqpome a self-esteem- part of the study should contact Jill Woodworth for more information at 581-373- 3. All ASUU monies mustbe aooessed by Friday, June 3, 1994. NO EXCEPTIONS. Questions? Call ASUU Office Hours: 581-386- 6 8AM-4:30P- M te self-style- urn V m& l0 tarns ic crfiotiMtf ," |
