OTTAWA -- Robert Latimer landed in Ottawa Monday with a message that may surprise some of his supporters: he's OK with the law that sent him to prison for killing his severely handicapped daughter Tracy.

Facing the media at Ottawa Airport after flying in from Saskatchewan to begin serving day parole at a halfway house, Latimer made it clear he's not in Ottawa to campaign for euthanasia or a "right to die" law.

Even the murder law that dealt him a life sentence with no eligibility for parole for 10 years "isn't that bad," he said, if the courts would allow a jury to determine whether what he did was right or wrong.

After serving seven years in prison, he said his focus is to clear his name and hopes Justice Minister Rob Nicholson will order a new jury trial. "It's the only thing that can set me free. No judge would ever have done it."

Though his two jury trials ended in convictions for second-degree murder, he said those juries were only asked to determine whether he killed his 12-year-old daughter in 1993 -- something he has acknowledged.

"Obviously a jury should be able to consider whether what I did was right or wrong," he said. "And I've never had a jury like that," he added,

"I really believe Canadians want situations like ours dealt with honestly. Will it happen? Are they honest? Who knows? This government, they're probably not that interested in this kind of thing."

Latimer was originally denied day parole last December, but that decision was later overturned by the National Parole Board's appeal division. He will be eligible for full parole on Dec. 8, 2010.

His decision to serve his day parole in Ottawa, he insisted, is "not a great move to institute new policies in the federal government. All I want is some honest answers. And I really believe I deserve them."

One of the answers he's seeking relates to assertions by the courts that he and his wife could have used other medication to manage their daughter's pain more effectively.

"I want the identification of that pain medication," he said, adding that he believes no such alternatives were available. "Let's face it, it's a fraud. And they know that."

An interruption in the oxygen supply at birth left Tracy Latimer with severe cerebral palsy. As a result, she was quadriplegic, subject to regular seizures and had the mental capacity of a baby.

She endured multiple surgeries and was in constant pain.

Latimer said people who fear he will lobby for changes to legalize mercy killing are "hysterical. I don't know what they're afraid of. They just seem like abusive people to me."

He said his spirits have been sustained by the widespread support he's received from ordinary Canadians.

"When you get so many people writing and sending letters of support, it's very reassuring," he said, adding that one woman who was on the flight to Ottawa has already invited him over to her house for dinner.

Dressed in a white T-shirt and winter coat, the 55-year-old Latimer hauled out a dog-eared package of legal documents and letters about his case to bolster his claims that he didn't receive a fair trial.

He said he has no real game plan while in Ottawa, though he expects to seek advice from some law students in Victoria who have taken up his cause.

Asked why he chose to serve his day parole in Ottawa rather than somewhere closer to his farm in Saskatchewan, Latimer pointed to the media scrum: "This isn't something you'd want to bring to your front yard," he said.

Latimer was met at the airport by his sister, Marj Mosienko, who lives in Ottawa. After Latimer answered journalists' questions for 20 minutes, his sister's husband, Frank Mosienko, drove him to the halfway house where he will live.

How long he'll stay is an open question. In theory, it could be until December 2010, when he is eligible for full parole. "We've had people here for that long," said Don Wadel, executive director of the John Howard Society Ottawa, which runs the halfway house.

But it's likely his stay will be shorter and he will serve out the rest of his day parole in his home province.

Latimer suggested as much, saying that while he's "on the hook" for three years of day parole, "I've been thinking about going back."

Kirkpatrick House, a three-storey red-brick building, can house up to 22 people in eight double rooms and six single rooms. It accepts offenders released on day parole, like Latimer, but also those on full parole, statutory release and escorted or unescorted temporary absence passes. According to Wadel, it's full.

As a new resident Latimer will share one of the double rooms, at least initially. Single rooms are given on seniority, based on the date of admission.

Kirkpatrick House, which has operated for 25 years, "provides a homelike environment" to residents and offers easy access to universities, colleges, adult high schools and employment centres, according to its Web site.

Residents are expected to get a job or enrol in an academic program. Latimer told reporters he has no idea what he will do, but Wadel said that will be sorted out in a meeting with his parole officer today.

Ottawa Citizen