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When he was 19 years old.

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Gregory Parsons as a child with his mother Catherine Carroll.

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Gregory Parsons was a firefighter in St Johns,Newfoundland

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A 'criminal minds" episode about Gregory Parson's wrongful conviction

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Criminal Minds - Gregory Parsons (Killing of parent)

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On New Year's Eve 1991, 45-year-old Catherine Carroll is stabbed 53 times and dies on the bathroom floor. Her 19-year-old son, Greg Parsons, discovers the grizzly scene and charged with murder. Neighbors testify that his mother was terrified of him.

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Thus is the video where he faces his mothers killer in court for the first time.

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Face To Face With A Killer: Gregory Parsons Facing The Man Who Killed His Mother in 1991 - ntv.ca

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A ST. JOHN'S MAN ONCE CONVICTED OF KILLING HIS MOTHER - IS FACING THE REAL MURDERER AT A PAROLE HEARING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA TODAY.

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This Article discuss's the day that Greg Parsons faced his mothers killer Brian Doyle.

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VICTORIA, B.C. - Fifteen years ago, Greg Parsons couldn't resist leaning over a courtroom railing in Newfoundland and telling off the man who had just been convicted of stabbing his mother to death with a kitchen knife.

"Enjoy your stay in hell, Brian," Parsons said to Brian Doyle. A childhood friend of Parsons, Doyle had remained silent as, years earlier, Parsons had been accused - and wrongfully convicted - of the murder.

On Friday, the two men were reunited in a hearing room at the minimum-security William Head Institution near Victoria, B.C. But this time Parsons sat stone-faced, as two members of the Parole Board of Canada announced they were granting Doyle's application for temporary escorted releases.

Moments earlier, in an emotionally wrought victim impact statement, Parsons, 47 - who had flown in from St. John's, where he is a firefighter - implored the parole panel to see Doyle as a "hardened murderer" who should not be allowed into the community.

But while acknowledging the gravity of Doyle's crime and a prison psychologist's assessment that he was a "moderate" risk to reoffend, the board members said they were satisfied allowing Doyle to have "escorted temporary absences" did not pose an undue risk to society and would be beneficial for his rehabilitation.

"We've suffered enough. This just adds to the pain and suffering. ... I feel cheated," Parsons said later, railing not only against the decision but the "country club" atmosphere of the oceanfront prison.

Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, William Head Institution - which overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca, features a tennis court and is surrounded by deer feeding on grass - has been derided by critics who call it "Club Fed." After serving time in maximum security prisons, including Ontario's Millhaven Institution, Doyle was transferred there in 2015.

Parsons was 19 when he found his 45-year-old mother Catherine Carroll's body in the bathroom of her home in January 1991. She had been stabbed or slashed 53 times.

Police initially suspected Parsons, and in 1994, a jury convicted him of second-degree murder based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence that Carroll had feared her son and that he had taken part in recording a song titled "Kill Your Parents," media reports said at the time.

DNA evidence later exonerated Parsons, however, and investigators turned their attention to Doyle who confessed to the murder in the course of an undercover sting. In 2003 he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole eligibility for 18 years.

I never meant to cause so much pain

A subsequent inquiry led by retired Supreme Court of Canada chief justice Antonio Lamer was critical of certain police investigative techniques and a culture among Crown prosecutors that encouraged "overreach."

"Parsons' case became a runaway train, fuelled by tunnel vision and a noble cause, and picking up many passengers along the way," Lamer's report said. Parsons received $650,000 in compensation.

During Friday's hearing, parole board members - appearing via video conference - pressed Doyle about his propensity for lying. They asked: You're able to lie to police?

"Yes," he answered softly.

Are you a skilled liar?

"No."

They quizzed Doyle about the night of the murder.

Doyle - his back facing observers the entire time, as is customary - explained that after attending a New Year's party, he headed over to Carroll's house and broke a rear window to get inside. They had been in a relationship, he said.

When he crawled naked into her bed, they got into an argument, which spilled into the bathroom.

"I turned around and swung at her with the knife," he said.

But why 53 times?

"Just a build-up of rage over the years," he offered, adding that she wanted to end the relationship.

Asked what he was doing when Parsons had been pegged as the killer, Doyle responded: "Hiding in myself."

How is it hiding when he attended Carroll's funeral and even signed the guest book, the board asked.

"I guess I went on with a normal life - be who everyone thought I was."

Doyle acknowledged that while he was the target of the undercover sting, he had talked about committing another murder but insisted "that's not who I am" and that he was merely "playing up" to his associates.

"My whole life I've tried to be a kind person," he insisted, adding that he now turns to meditation and gardening to deal with his emotions.

"I'm so sorry," he told the panel. "I never meant to cause so much pain."

I feel that I am truly the person in prison

At one point, Parsons' brother, Todd, who flew in from Yellowknife to observe the hearing, crumpled forward in his seat unable to contain his emotions.

Corrections officials say escorted temporary absences are an important "first step" in gauging an offender's readiness for reintegration into society. And Doyle had two supporters to make the case for his temporary releases.

His parole officer told the board that while there was no question Doyle had committed a "callous, brutal" crime, he had shown "excellent" behaviour in custody, actively participated in his programs and showed a "high level of accountability and remorse."

His temporary releases would be limited to 16 hours per month for three months and only involve attending community Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, she said.

A prison chaplain, who said he meets one-on-one with Doyle weekly, described Doyle as forthcoming and not prone to sugarcoating.

In his victim impact statement, Parsons described the "guilt" he felt for not being able to protect his mother and the toll that losing her and being wrongly accused had had on him.

"People still say to me, 'Aren't you the fellow who got off with killing your mother?' Because of this I am becoming a hermit in my house," he said.

"I have too many PTSD triggers to count. The public are triggers, seeing the news is triggers, seeing police is triggers, which unfortunately has made my career (as a fireman) a trigger. I feel that I am truly the person in prison."

Outside the hearing, Parsons said he couldn't stomach the possibility of Doyle's return to the community.

"He is such a dangerous criminal and he's skating through the justice system," he said.

"This is not your regular guy who made a mistake once in his life."

Parsons said he once had a conversation with Guy Paul Morin, who was wrongly convicted of the 1984 abduction and killing of his 9-year-old neighbour, Christine Jessop. Morin told him the best advice he could give him was to not dwell on the past.

But Parsons said he's now reached the conclusion that that is an impossible goal - not when you're related to the victim and not when the offender is beginning the process of returning to society.

"I'm going to be an advocate for people in situations like this. I'm going to be an advocate for what's right.

"I'm on a mission," he said.
* Email: dquan@postmedia.com | Twitter: dougquan

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'I feel cheated': Once wrongfully convicted in his mother's murder, a son confronts her killer at parole hearing

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VICTORIA, B.C. - Fifteen years ago, Greg Parsons couldn't resist leaning over a courtroom railing in Newfoundland and telling off the man who had just been convicted of stabbing his mother to death with a kitchen knife. "Enjoy your stay in hell, Brian," Parsons said to Brian Doyle.

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In this article is covers everything from the arrest down to the acquittal.

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Author: Sarah Harland-Logan

Introduction

Gregory Parsons was only 19 when his life was forever transformed by a shocking miscarriage of justice. Gregory's life was not easy: his parents separated when he was six, and at nine he was sent to live with his mother, Catherine Carroll. Catherine was a loving but troubled woman who struggled with alcoholism, depression and anxiety, hoarding behaviours, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. As a teenager, Gregory worked hard to help his mother with her problems and support himself. Although he wanted to stay in school, he kept having to drop out in order to run the carpet cleaning business which he had started at age 16. He was well liked in the community and would take out garbage, mow lawns and shovel snow for neighbours who were unable to do these tasks themselves.[1]

Unfortunately, Catherine was in the habit of frequently lying about a wide range of subjects. For instance, she had once called Gregory's girlfriend Tina's manager to complain that Tina was "giving out bank secrets" belonging to the employer. Catherine later admitted that she had fabricated this story because she had been annoyed with Tina. Concerned about her increasingly erratic behaviour, Gregory contacted her psychiatrist. Despite his efforts, Catherine's tendency to lie would ultimately land her son in jail.[2]

On January 2nd, 1991, Gregory called his mother, whom he had been trying to reach for a few days. At first he had assumed that she was busy or out with friends, but eventually he started to worry. At 10:30 p.m., he drove to her house and climbed in through a front window. He followed his mother's barking dog up the stairs, to a locked bathroom. Gregory managed to force the door open. What he saw inside would stay with him forever: his mother's body, lying in a pool of dried blood. Screaming, Gregory ran outside and called 911.[3]

Gregory's Arrest

The police officers who investigated the crime scene quickly noticed that one of the basement windows had been damaged, showing signs of forced entry. However, the police believed that the window was too small for the murderer to have gained access to the house through it. Instead, they focused their investigation on Gregory - especially when it became clear that Catherine had told various people that she felt threatened by her son and feared for her safety. Despite the fact that they had no physical evidence implicating him - their theory was based entirely on statements made by a woman whose psychiatrist had described her as having "a tendency to exaggerate and dramatize all the problems that she ... [had] gone through in her life" - the investigators rapidly became convinced that Gregory had committed the horrific crime of matricide.[4]

On January 10, 1991, Gregory was arrested and charged with his mother's murder. He later described his treatment at the hands of the arresting officers as "degrading" and "humiliating." He explained the sequence of events that occurred after he was placed in the police cruiser as follows:

...the mind games began, the mental abuse, the torture... [the officer] Gets me back to the station, strips me down to my underwear, [has] ... me holding out my hands. This went on for hours. I'm telling you into an hour of it I felt like I never slept in days or weeks. It was the most mentally draining thing I've ever had to endure.

Gregory was later moved from the police station to the lockup and between the buildings he fell "face first into the snow." Four or five days passed before he was even allowed to shower.[5]

On January 18, 1991, Gregory was released from these deplorable conditions. In fact, the judge who released him was skeptical that this seemingly ordinary citizen could have committed the crime of which he was accused: "Is that the classic matricide type of person?," he asked before releasing Gregory on bail.[6]

Gregory's Trial

More than two years later, Gregory's murder trial finally began, on September 23, 1993. At trial, the jury heard from many witnesses who recalled that Catherine had made statements expressing her fear of her son and her belief that he might kill her. These hearsay statements were admitted even though it should have been clear that they were completely unreliable. The judge also admitted a tape of a parodical song that Gregory and his friends had previously composed in imitation of "trash" music featuring "death and destruction" themes. This tape regrettably included the lyrics, "Kill your fuckin mother, kill your fuckin father." It is easy to imagine how these lyrics would have appeared to the jury - even though there was never any physical evidence to connect Gregory to his mother's death.[7]

On February 15, 1994, Gregory was convicted of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 15 years.[8]

Gregory's Appeal and Bail

Gregory appealed his conviction and applied to be released on bail until his appeal could be heard. On March 25, 1994, Gregory was granted bail - despite his having just been found guilty of second-degree murder - due to number of factors, including the fact that his conviction rested entirely on circumstantial evidence. In addition, he had the strong support of his community: around 300 residents had signed a petition stating that they would welcome his return and did not have any safety concerns.[9]

It took another two years before Gregory's appeal was heard, starting on March 11, 1996. The Newfoundland Court of Appeal agreed with Gregory, that his conviction had been a mistake. The Court based their decision on three serious errors that the trial judge had made. First, the jury should not have heard all of the incriminating hearsay statements that Catherine had made to various community members. Second, the joke tape that Gregory had made with his friends as a young teenager similarly should not have been admitted.[10] Finally, the judges were unimpressed by the fact that the Crown prosecutor had closed her case by asking the jury, "If Greg Parsons didn't cause his mother's death[,] who did?" Since an accused person must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in order to be convicted of a crime, it is not the accused's responsibility to suggest other suspects in his or her place. However, the trial judge did not explain this fact to the jury, so as to "disabuse ... them of the notion that they could somehow conclude that the accused was guilty" simply because it was not apparent who else might have committed the murder. Instead, the trial judge stated that the prosecutor's comment was "a rightful and legal remark to make" - and moreover, that "she would have been negligent not to make it"![11]

As a result of these three fatal mistakes, on December 3, 1996, the Newfoundland Court of Appeal quashed Gregory's conviction and ordered a new trial. While Gregory was on bail for the periods of time before his appeal and while awaiting his second trial, he was never truly free. His strict conditions of release required he sign in at the police station every day. On many of those days, the police made snide remarks and occasionally pretended to have lost the information showing that he had checked in as required, making Gregory believe that he was about to be arrested. Gregory also lived in fear that he might one day actually forget to sign in, leading to his arrest. Police officers frequently followed Gregory and members of his family around town. Perhaps the most troubling incident of police harassment occurred in July of 1997 when officers commanded a police dog to attack Gregory as he had smoked a small amount of marijuana in order to relieve stress. As a result of the dog attack, Gregory had to spend three weeks in a wheelchair and on crutches as his legs healed - partially: he suffered permanent physical damage and scarring in addition to the mental anguish inflicted by his wrongful conviction.[12]

Gregory's Acquittal

Fortunately, in the years that had lapsed between Gregory's conviction and the lead-up to his new trial, DNA testing techniques had become significantly more effective. On January 26, 1998, DNA testing confirmed that the DNA identified at the murder scene could not possibly be Gregory's. In other words, Gregory was innocent.[13]

In light of this revelation, the Crown chose not to proceed with a new trial. Instead, a Stay of Proceedings was entered on February 2, 1998. [14] This action meant that although Gregory would not undergo a new trial, his name was not officially cleared. However, Innocence Canada (formerly AIDWYC) took Gregory's case and fought to ensure that he would indeed be acquitted, thus demonstrating to the world that he had played no part in his mother's death.

On November 5, 1998, Gregory was finally acquitted. The Minister of Justice publicly apologized "to Gregory ... and his family for the disruption to their lives and the extreme anguish they have had to endure over the past eight years." The government also commissioned an inquiry into Gregory's wrongful conviction, the results of which were released on June 21, 2006.[15]

The keystone to Gregory's acquittal was the discovery of the real culprit - Gregory's childhood friend Brian Doyle - who confessed and later pled guilty to Catherine Carroll's murder. The DNA evidence that exonerated Gregory confirmed that Doyle was the real killer. Doyle admitted that on New Year's Eve, 1990, he broke in through the basement window that the police surmised was too small to be the killer's point of entry, and stabbed and slashed Catherine 53 times.

Gregory made a victim impact statement in which he described how he had been best friends with Brian Doyle growing up, and how he had protected Doyle from bullies. After Brian's conviction, Gregory told reporters, "This is mom's day. She's always been portrayed in a negative light and she was a good person." Doyle was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years.[16]

Causes of Gregory's Wrongful Conviction: Tunnel Vision

Gregory's wrongful conviction had many causes. The most obvious explanation is that the trial judge admitted incriminating hearsay statements from a troubled woman who had lied extensively about her son's behaviour. As mentioned above, the judge also admitted the parodical tape that Gregory and his friends had earlier in their teenage years, and allowed the prosecutor to suggest that Gregory must be guilty because no other suspects had been put forward.[17]

That said, the investigation and trial that led to Gregory's wrongful conviction were motivated by a dangerous and all too common phenomenon known as "tunnel vision." Tunnel vision has been described as "the single minded and overly narrow focus on an investigation or prosecutorial theory" - in this case, the theory that Gregory had murdered his mother - "so as to unreasonably colour the evaluation of information received and one's conduct in response to the information."[18]It is easy for police and prosecutors to fall into tunnel vision, particularly if they are under intense pressure to solve a case. Perhaps not surprising, tunnel vision is a common feature found in many miscarriages of justice.[19] Moreover, "it is a trap that can capture even the best police officer or prosecutor," especially because "it is mutually reinforcing amongst police officers [and] ... prosecutors." Tunnel vision must therefore "be guarded against vigilantly."[20]

One way that prosecutors must guard against this trap is by keeping in mind that their role is not to secure a conviction, but rather to ensure that justice is done. This means that their role "excludes any notion of winning or losing," as the Supreme Court put it in the now-famous case R v Boucher. In fact, the current Ontario Crown Policy Manual specifically comments that prosecutors must be "open to the possibility of the innocence of the accused person and avoid 'tunnel vision.'"[21]

Sadly, the prosecutors who worked on Gregory's case lost sight of these obligations, as well as the vital separation between their role and that of police officers. As described in the Ontario Crown Policy Manual, "the working relationship between police and crown counsel" must include "appropriate recognition of the boundaries between the investigative and prosecutorial functions."[22]

The Inquiry into Gregory's wrongful conviction found that the prosecutor who first worked on his case "appeared to be unusually close to the actual investigation." The prosecutor visited the police station and discussed the investigation with officers. Perhaps as a result of this unwise participation in the investigation, the prosecutor "'bought in' completely to the police theory" rather than keeping a dispassionate distance. Similarly, the prosecutor who ran Gregory's trial accepted the police theory, which contributed to her "overreaching" throughout the trial. In addition to successfully attempting to put unreliable hearsay evidence before the jury, during the trial she described Gregory as a "monster," "evil," and an "animal." Both prosecutors lost sight of their proper goal - not to "win," but rather to ensure that justice is achieved. And when the wrong person is convicted, the only winner is the real culprit.[23]

Causes of Gregory's Wrongful Conviction: Technological Limitations

By 1998, DNA testing technology had improved enough that it could be employed to exonerate Gregory and implicate the real killer. It is very fortunate that we now live in an era where miscarriages of justice like Gregory's can be rectified through DNA testing.[24]

That being said, as forensic science continues to evolve, it has become clear that many other forensic scientific techniques are much less reliable than we once believed. Shoe print comparison, bite mark analysis, firearm tool mark analysis, and other such techniques that have never been properly tested remain potential causes of wrongful convictions. Furthermore, even generally reliable, properly validated forensic techniques such as DNA typing, and serology can produce inaccurate results if the samples are contaminated. Finally, the experts tasked with interpreting forensic evidence for the court may make mistakes that can contribute to miscarriages of justice, as in the many wrongful convictions resulting from the infamously inaccurate testimony of Dr. Charles Smith.[25]

Wounds that Innocence Canada Cannot Heal

During the years that Gregory spent fighting to clear his name and ultimately bring his mother's real killer to justice, he endured the loss of his freedom; humiliating and brutal police treatment, including the permanent injuries he suffered during the dog attack; and the abrupt, shattering end of an already difficult youth. During the Inquiry into the miscarriage of justice that befell him, Gregory described his conviction as "the end of the world to me." He recalled "lying on a bunk, looking up at the writing on the bottom of the bunk above you and thinking this is what you're going to look at now for the rest of your life." He also did not have the opportunity to grieve for his mother after her violent death.[26]

Although Gregory received compensation for his wrongful conviction - unlike many others who have suffered similar miscarriages of justice - no amount of money could undo the needless pain and fear that he and his family endured. At the time of the public Inquiry, he was still struggling to put his family tragedy behind him, and erase the "huge gap" in his life that these events created.[27]

Gregory and Tina - now his wife - have shown tremendous resilience and courage in the face of this tragedy. As Gregory explained at the Inquiry, "My children don't want for anything, I'm pleased to say. They have a very happy life, and, basically, it brings me the utmost happiness every day... [T]hat's worth more to me than anything."[28]

[1] The Right Honourable Antonio Lamer, Commissioner. The Lamer Commission of Inquiry Pertaining to the Cases of: Ronald Dalton; Gregory Parsons; Randy Druken - Report and Annexes. June 21, 2006, available at: http://www.justice.gov.nl.ca/just/publications/lamerreport.pdf, pp. 74-75 [Inquiry].

[2] Ibid at pp. 72-74, 113.

[3] Ibid at p. 76.

[4] Ibid at pp. 76-80.

[5] Ibid at pp. 3, 81-82.

[6] Ibid at p. 82.

[7] Ibid at pp. 85-87.

[8] Ibid at pp. 87-88.

[9] Ibid at pp. 3, 88.

[10] Ibid at pp. 88-89.

[11] Ibid at p. 89.

[12] Ibid at pp. 3, 90-9.

[13] Ibid at pp. 3, 94.

[14] Ibid at p. 94; Government of Newfoundland and Labrador - Canada: News Release, February 5, 1998, available at: http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/1998/just/0205n07.htm

[15] Government of Newfoundland and Labrador - Canada: News Release, November 5, 1998, available at http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/1998/just/1105n02.htm; Government of Newfoundland and Labrador - Canada: News Release, June 21, 2006, available at http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2006/just/0621n03.htm.

[16] Inquiry, supra note 1 at pp. 3, 94, 124; CBC News: "Guilty Plea in Newfoundland Murder Case that Sent Innocent Man to Jail." November 12, 2002, available at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/guilty-plea-in-newfoundland-murder-case-that-sent-innocent-man-to-jail-1.347457; CBC News: "Man to Serve 18 Years for Killing Friend's Mom." February 18, 2003, available at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/man-to-serve-18-years-for-killing-friend-s-mom-1.393204.; CBC News: "Son Wrongly Accused of Killing His Mother Gives Emotional Court Statement." November 14, 2002, available at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/son-wrongly-accused-of-killing-his-mother-gives-emotional-court-statement-1.352096.

[17] "Inquiry," supra note 1 at pp. 88-89.

[18] The Honourable Fred Kaufman, C.M., Q.C.: "Recommendation 74," Report of The Kaufman Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin: Recommendations, p. 26, available at: http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/morin/morin_recom.pdf.

[19] See discussion in Truscott (Re), 2007 ONCA 575, 225 C.C.C. (3d) 321.

[20] Inquiry, supra note 1 at p. 71; "4. Tunnel Vision." FTP Heads of Prosecutions Committee Report of the Working Group on the Prevention of Miscarriages of Justice: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/ccr-rc/pmj-pej/p4.html#foot114.

[21] "Role of the Crown: Preamble to the Crown Policy Manual" (pp. 1-2), Ontario Crown Policy Manual, 2005, available at: http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/crim/cpm/2005/CPMPreamble.pdf (citing R v Boucher (1954), 110 CCC 263).

[22] "Police: Relationship with Crown Counsel," Ontario Crown Policy Manual, 2005, available at: http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/crim/cpm/2005/PoliceRelationshipWithCrown.pdf.

[23] Inquiry, supra note 1 at pp. 129-130, 141, 145-148, 152-153.

[24] Ibid at pp. 3, 94.

[25] For more information on these topics, see The Innocence Project, "Understand the Causes: Unreliable or Improper Forensic Science," at http://www.innocenceproject.org/understand/Unreliable-Limited-Science.php.

[26] Inquiry, supra note 1 at pp. 95-96, 98.

[27] Ibid at p. 99.

[28] Ibid at p. 100.

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Author: Sarah Harland-Logan Gregory Parsons was only 19 when his life was forever transformed by a shocking miscarriage of justice. Gregory's life was not easy: his parents separated when he was six, and at nine he was sent to live with his mother, Catherine Carroll.

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The Artilce is about the fact that he wants his mothers killer to be in maximum security instead of minimum.

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Greg Parsons spent years in prison for a crime he did not commit - murdering his own mother. Now he wants to share his hard-earned experiences with the federal and provincial justice ministers in an effort to help fix correctional institutions in Newfoundland and Labrador. - Photo courtesy Chad Hipolito/National Post

On Friday morning, in a small courtroom on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Greg Parsons saw his mother's killer for the first time in 15 years.

The man, Brian Doyle, was sentenced in 2003 to 18 years in prison without parole for the brutal murder of Catherine Carroll.

A hearing was held on Friday, 15 years after Doyle's sentencing, to grant him temporary absences from the minimum-security William's Head prison to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Doyle's hearing was successful.

Parsons, who was himself falsely convicted of his mother's killing in 1991, says there's comfort that Doyle didn't get parole.

"It's a small victory," he said.

But Parsons thinks Doyle is still getting off easy for the death of his mother.

William Head is a minimum-security facility. Parsons believes Doyle should be in a maxiumum-security facility, as he worries of a risk to reoffend.

"It's water on three sides. The front gate is open- you just walk in through the front gate. There's no locks, you just walk in and out. It's crazy," he said.

"I have pictures of a deer eating grass on their properties. People would pay money to go onto a resort like that."

The emotions are still raw for Parsons all these years later.

"She was disfigured so bad that it was a closed casket. I still have dreams that my mom is still alive because I don't have the closure of seeing her in a casket. That's how vicious the crime was."

He says it was difficult walking into the courtroom to see his mother's killer after all these years.

"I was prepared for it, but it's a very emotional situation. A couple of my relatives were there. They were so emotional they just filed their impact statements because they were too emotional," he said.

"I knew that this had to be done. I went in and I said it the way it had to be said."

Catherine Carroll was stabbed 53 times with a steak knife on New Year's Day in 1991.

On Jan, 2, 1991, Parsons found his mother on her bathroom floor in a pool of dried blood.

On Jan, 10, 1991, Parsons was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

It took five years of appeals for the justice system to realize its mistake. It took another two years for Parsons to be acquitted.

Related story:
Temporary absence hearing Friday for Catherine Carroll's murderer
Now, Parsons says he's ready to use his experience to do his part to improve the justice system in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"The Newfoundland justice system has been kicking me for years because they're embarrassed by me. I am a good man. I am a very good man. I'm good to people," said Parsons.

"I'm a 17-year veteran in the fire department. I help people every day of my life."

Parsons says he's reached out to the federal Department of Justice, in hopes of arranging a meeting with minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, as well as her provincial counterpart Andrew Parsons.

He says he hopes to use his experience to improve the justice system for those who come next.

"I am here. I want to help. You don't put those guys down there in that pen. All they're doing is making connections," he said.

"You should have a decent prison with programs so they can better themselves. Once you know they've bettered themselves, then you give them more freedom."

Parsons is planning a press conference for when he gets back to Newfoundland and Labrador, where he will present his thoughts on what needs to be done to fix correctional institutions in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"But that's for another day. I don't want anything to take away from mom today. This is about mom and keeping mom's killer in jail. Keeping him in a proper prison," he said.

david.maher@thetelegram.com

Twitter: DavidMaherNL

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N.L.'s Greg Parsons wants the man who murdered his mother behind the walls of a maximum, not a minimum-security facility | The Telegram

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On Friday morning, in a small courtroom on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Greg Parsons saw his mother's killer for the first time in 15 years. The man, Brian Doyle, was sentenced in 2003 to 18 years in prison without parole for the brutal murder of Catherine Carroll.