The Parole Board of Canada has granted day parole to a retired Summerland RCMP officer who murdered his wife in 2011.
Keith Gregory Wiens, now 70, was approved for day parole at a halfway home for a period of six months, according to a Sept. 23 Parole Board decision.
Wiens shot and killed his common-law partner of seven years, Lynn Kalmring, in 2011.
He was found guilty following a trial by jury and given a life sentence with no chance of parole for 13 years in 2013.
Kalmring's family has long opposed any parole or leave applications by Wiens, including the seven-day and 10-day unescorted temporary absences to a community-based residential facility that were approved in November of 2024.
The most recent decision notes that multiple people spoke at the parole hearing, where they shared the loss, fear and frustration they had suffered due to Wiens' actions.
"They were clear in their desire that you should not be released into the community on day parole and the fear they felt that you would reoffend causing tremendous pain to another family," reads a section of the decision. "One victim shared a poem they had written that captures the trauma experienced as a result of your offending."
Wiens had attempted to appeal his conviction in 2016, which was dismissed, followed by an appeal of his sentence, which he abandoned.
The Parole Board notes Wiens' recent admissions that he had placed a knife in Kalmring's hand after he shot her in an attempt to claim self-defence as an aggravating factor in its decision.
While out on his unescorted absences, in addition to being required to check in with police, Wiens will be under orders to have no contact with his victim's family, to follow his treatment plan, to report any relationships and not to consume any alcohol.
In its decision, the Parole Board found that a statistical analysis of risk found Wiens to be unlikely to reoffend within three years of release, but that he also still presents a high risk of violence against future intimate partners.
"In your hearing, the Board recognized that you have made gains in programming to mitigate risk in several dynamic risk domains; that you lived a prosocial life prior to the index offence; that your institutional behaviour has been positive and productive; that you did well on [Escorted Temporary Absences] and [Unescorted Temporary Absences]; that your actuarial measure indicate that you are a low risk to reoffend generally and violently; and that your [Psychological Risk Assessment] indicated that you would be suitable for day parole and your risk would be manageable," reads the Parole Board's decision.
The Parole Board notes that Wiens has support in the location of the community-based residential facility he will reside in, including support from his family and that he planned to continue taking further programming.
The decision does not state where the halfway home is located, nor does it state when the leave will begin.
