And so ends what a Toronto judge would call maybe “the worse case of child abuse in Canadian penal history” – both killers of young Randal Dooley are now free.
As expected, full parole was granted this week to Marcia Dooley – the evil stepmother who meted out most of the horrific child abuse that eventually left the seven-year-old emaciated, broken and with four separate injuries to his brain, the last proving fatal on Sept. 25, 1998.
Her release follows that of ex-husband Tony Dooley, who won full parole last year and was set to deported back to Jamaica. The couple from hell was convicted in 2002 of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, with Tony eligible to apply for parole after 13 years and his wife after 18.
Marcia is 54 now, with so much of her life left to live. Her new home is likely Barrie where she’ll live with a female ex-con, has a job and a circle of “pro-social” supports that includes her church, her father and friends.
In its recently-released written reasons, the Parole Board paid lip service to her vicious crime and didn’t mention the victim by name, as they never do: “The offence was exceptionally heinous, as those who should have been protecting the child were in fact responsible for his abuse and subsequent death.”
What an understatement that is.
Randal and his big brother Tego had arrived from Jamaica at the start of a Canadian winter to be reunited with their father and his new wife. The promise of a bright future soon disappeared as Marcia – whose philandering husband often left her alone with the stepkids and their newborn – would take out her stress, anger and frustration on the terrified boy with the big eyes.
Randal weighed just 41 pounds, his emaciated body covered with bruises. A tooth was found in his stomach. His ribs and elbow had been broken, his liver lacerated, a vertebra fractured.
The rest of the parole decision is all about Marcia – how she’s progressed and how she self-describes as a victim disadvantaged because she was “black and poor.” Her case management team told the board they must take into account the negative psychological impact of racial profiling and criminalization.
What does that have to do with beating a boy to death?
The panel agreed they were required to consider her Black Social history.
“The Board is mindful of the over-representation of incarcerated Black offenders, understands the issues you have faced, and has considered these factors in this decision; however, the Board must also factor in your offence type and conviction history.”
Their conclusion was that after 20 years behind bars and two years of day parole, the child killer is at a low risk to reoffend.
“You spoke to the Board about how pride, shame, and fear of judgment (by family and friends) contributed, in
part, to your offending. You stated that you ‘didn’t want to look like a failure,’ that the problems in your relationship made you blame your husband, and you took that anger out on the victim.
“Although you were raised in a culture that permitted disciplining children, you stated that because of uncontrollable anger you took discipline too far. You acknowledged it was in fact abuse.”
During the hearing, Marcia told them that at first, she was in denial and blamed everyone else. Through programming and time, she now has insight and takes full responsibility.
“Everyday of my life I live with it,” she told the panel. “What I have done was wrong.”
Punishment is long past. Rehabilitation is the goal.
“Although the Board cannot ignore that aggravating nature of the index offence, the Board understands that full parole is the next logical step in your gradual reintegration to society.”
But, just in case, she’s not allowed to be in the company of children unless approved by her parole supervisor and accompanied by a responsible adult who knows her history.
Marcia now gets to walk the streets like nothing happened – but not in Toronto at least. So that she avoids contact with the brother of the boy she killed, she’s not to enter the city without prior written consent.