ManitobaAdvocates say authorities should divulge the location of Shawn Lamb, who was given statutory release from prison last week after spending more than a decade behind bars for the killings of two women in Winnipeg.’What are we going to do in 6 months when he’s free to roam where he wants?’ says Melissa RobinsonOzten Shebahkeget · CBC News · Posted: Nov 18, 2025 6:07 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Melissa Robinson, an advocacy specialist for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, says she learned from Winnipeg police Chief Gene Bowers that Shawn Lamb is not in Manitoba after his recent release from prison. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)Advocates say authorities should divulge the location of a man who was given statutory release from prison earlier this month after spending more than a decade behind bars for the killings of two women in Winnipeg.Shawn Lamb, now 66, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in the 2012 slayings of Carolyn Sinclair and Lorna Blacksmith. He was sentenced in 2013 to 20 years in prison — 10 years for each killing — minus time served while awaiting trial.Lamb was granted statutory release earlier this month. The law requires that federal offenders who have served two-thirds of a fixed-length sentence be released under supervision, though that can be denied in some circumstances. Lamb was first eligible for parole in 2022.He will have to spend at least six months at a designated facility, such as a halfway house, as part of conditions imposed by the Parole Board of Canada in a Nov. 6 decision.Melissa Robinson, an advocacy specialist for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and co-founder of the Winnipeg outreach group Morgan’s Warriors, said she informed Blacksmith’s sister when she heard news of Lamb’s release.”This was all a shock to everyone,” she told CBC. “That fear of thinking that this man could be in our city again, you know, just walking the streets … everyone was on high alert.”However, Robinson says she later learned in conversation with Winnipeg police Chief Gene Bowers that Lamb was not released under supervision in Winnipeg or anywhere else in Manitoba.”They need to share … whatever province he’s in [so people there can] be on high alert. They need to be aware,” she said.The parole board’s decision said assessments found Lamb to have a “high imminent” risk of violence towards a partner, as well as an above-average risk to reoffend sexually, though Lamb’s overall risk was only in the moderate range.Robinson called Lamb’s risk of reoffending “scary.””What are we going to do in six months when he’s free to roam where he wants? What if he chooses to come back here? Are we going to be told about this?”Lorna Blacksmith, left, and Carolyn Sinclair. Both women were killed by Shawn Lamb in 2012. (Submitted by Winnipeg Police Service)The Correctional Service of Canada says legislation allows families of victims to receive information about certain offenders that is not otherwise available to the public, but they have to register first.New legislation recently passed into law — but not yet in effect — will require courts to inform Corrections Canada when a victim wants to receive updates on how an offender’s sentence is being served. Courts will also provide Corrections Canada with the victim’s name and contact information.”Once this provision comes into effect, CSC will be able to proactively contact victims to offer services and support,” a Corrections spokesperson said in an emailed statement.CBC News followed up to ask whether the agency would inform families or the public of an offender’s whereabouts during a statutory release, but did not hear back before publication.Families should be notified: grand chiefLamb was originally charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of Blacksmith and Sinclair. He was also charged with second-degree murder in connection with Tanya Nepinak, 31, who went missing in September 2011.The Crown stayed that charge because of a lack of evidence, and reduced the charges in relation to Blacksmith and Sinclair to manslaughter as part of a plea deal.Nepinak’s daughter, Jasmine Mann, 24, told CBC last week that she learned of Lamb’s release through social media.The situation has led the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to call for mandatory notification and consultation with affected First Nations families and leadership, before any release decisions are made.AMC Grand Chief Kyra Wilson says Corrections Canada should tell victims’ families where and when offenders are being released.”I don’t think that it’s up to the families to be registering for notification,” she said. “It’s the responsibility of the justice system to make sure that families are feeling supported.”Affected families should also have a voice during a parole board’s hearing process, Wilson said.”It’s awful that [families] are finding out by social media,” she said.”When it comes to any release, or any parole board hearings for anyone that has targeted First Nations women, there should be a process in which leadership is involved, and families that are impacted can provide their input.”With files from Meaghan Ketcheson and Zubina Ahmed
Convicted killer Shawn Lamb not in Manitoba after release, but whereabouts should be made public: advocates
