[2] Before his imprisonment, Latimer lived near Wilkie, Saskatchewan, on a 1280 acre (520 ha) wheat and canola farm[3] with his wife, Laura, and their four children.
[11] Considering it too intrusive, the Latimers did not wish a feeding tube to be inserted, though according to the 2001 Supreme Court judgment, it might have allowed more effective pain medication to be administered and it might have improved her nutrition and health.
[12] People who worked with Tracy in group homes and schools described her smile, love of music and reaction to horses at the circus.
"[13] In October 1993, Dr. Dzus recommended and scheduled further surgery on November 19, 1993, in the hope that it would lessen the constant pain in Tracy's dislocated hip.
[2] In February 1996, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear a further appeal; and in June 1996, the original Crown prosecutor was charged with attempting to obstruct justice by jury tampering.
In February 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial for Latimer because of the allegations of jury tampering;[2] it began on 22 October 1997.
Latimer began serving his sentence on January 18, 2001, and was incarcerated at William Head Institution, a minimum-security facility located 30 kilometres west of Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island.
The board denied his request, saying that Latimer had not developed sufficient insight into his actions, despite psychological and parole reports that said he was a low risk to reoffend unless he was in the same situation again.
[16][17] In January 2008, lawyer Jason Gratl filed the appeal on Latimer's behalf, arguing that in denying parole, the board had violated its own rules by requiring admission of wrongdoing and by ignoring the low risk for reoffending.
On his release he stated that he planned to work for a new trial and for identification of the pain medication that the 2001 Supreme Court ruling suggested he could have used instead of killing his daughter.
[27] Ethicist Arthur Schafer argued that Latimer was "the only person in Canadian history to spend even a single day in prison for a mercy killing" and that compassion and common sense dictated a reduced sentence and the granting of parole.
[30] Religious groups representing the Roman Catholic church and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada also appeared as intervenors in Latimer's Supreme Court appeal.
Maclean's columnist Andrew Coyne argued that the National Parole Board was right to expect remorse on Latimer's part, because to do otherwise might inspire others to similar actions.
[32] First presented as a radio play on CBC in 1996, and then adapted and produced on stage by the Great Canadian Theatre Company in 2005, Mourning Dove by playwright Emil Sher explores the quandary that Robert Latimer faced as a father.
[33] Premiering at Stage Left's Balancing Acts Disability Arts Festival in 2003, Mercy Killing or Murder: The Tracy Latimer Story, a community collaboration by Michele Decottignies and company, presents a multimedia, Epic Theatre approach to the subject that centres the experiences of Tracy Latimer and people with disabilities.