After rising to the top of Amazon Canada’s best sellers, word spread that Paul Bernardo self-published an e-book, titled A MAD World Order.
According to the Correctional Service of Canada, Bernardo’s e-book is fictional and has nothing to do with his gruesome crimes. Despite this, the public responded viscerally. And public outrage forced Amazon to remove the e-book.
Did Amazon violate the law by publishing Bernardo’s book?
Pursuant to the Prohibiting Profiting from Recounting Crimes Act, 2002, SO 2002, c 2, all proceeds from recounting one’s crimes must go towards assisting victims of crimes.
What counts as “recounting”? Where does the line between recounting and imagining begin and end? How do we interpret the difference, especially when the Halo effect taints every word? When someone as famous as Bernardo writes a book, every image appears twisted, every thought deranged, every illusion grounded in a moment’s past.
