Dangerous offenders like Paul Bernardo warrant tougher transfer rules: lawyer – National | 24CA News
The lawyer for the households of two of Paul Bernardo’s victims is asking on Ottawa to implement totally different prisoner classification guidelines for harmful offenders like Bernardo.
Earlier this yr, the infamous serial killer was moved from a most safety facility in Ontario to a medium safety penitentiary in Quebec.
According to the lawyer for the households of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, Tim Danson, his purchasers solely came upon in regards to the switch when Bernardo was in transit.
“We must eliminate for these types of offenders the notion that the penitentiary sentence has to be the least restrictive. That is inconsistent with the sentencing principles and inconsistent with what the trial judge had to say about Mr. Bernardo,” Danson advised the House of Commons public security committee.
“This criteria that he’s not representing a threat to prison guards and other inmates and that’s a justification for transferring him to medium security … there just has to be a fundamental shift in establishing a separate criteria for Canada’s most dangerous offenders, and don’t put them in the mix and apply the same criteria to them that applies to a majority of offenders.”
Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French had been 14 and 15 years outdated, respectively, after they had been kidnapped, raped and finally killed by Bernardo and his spouse Karla Homolka. Homolka made a plea cope with prosecutors to plead responsible to manslaughter and served her 12-year sentence earlier than being launched in 2005.
Bernardo’s switch triggered a political firestorm earlier this yr, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling the switch “unacceptable.”
On Nov. 27, Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner Anne Kelly defended the prisoner reclassification system, saying it’s rigorous and is legislated to be assessed each two years.
“In Canada, our correction system is fundamentally based on the rehabilitation of offenders even if some remain in custody for the rest of their lives,” Kelly stated on Monday.
“Under the law, CSC must assign a security classification to each inmate and review it at regular intervals. Our approach to both initial security classification and security reclassification is very rigorous.”
Danson advised the committee that he’s there to talk for the French and Mahaffy households and relay their needs to the committee because it’s too emotional for them to talk publicly in regards to the matter.
He says the households settle for that Bernardo remains to be entitled to his rights, together with humane therapy in jail and skill to hunt parole, however are looking for justice.
“What is justice for a convicted, sadistic, sexual psychopath who committed the most unspeakable crimes known to humankind?” Danson requested the committee.
He went on to say that Bernardo is designated as a harmful offender and two separate parole board panels dominated that he confirmed no empathy and isn’t treatable within the jail system. This is why Danson stated his purchasers consider he ought to have stayed in most safety.
In most safety, Kelly advised the committee final Monday that the principle distinction between that and medium safety is how a lot management is positioned on inmate actions within the facility. She emphasised that perimeter safety measures are the identical.
Kelly added that to be deemed a most safety inmate, they’re some mixture of needing a excessive diploma of management on the jail system, current a excessive escape danger and are a public security danger.
“You can have somebody like Paul Bernardo, who remains a high risk to the safety of the public, but we can manage this particular offender or offenders like him in a medium security institution,” she stated.
“So, it’s managing the risk the offender presents in the institution.”
Inmates despatched to minimal safety establishments are thought of low danger in all three of the above elements, Kelly advised committee.
Danson says that he agrees rehabilitation is an important a part of the legal justice system and must be the main target for a overwhelming majority of inmates. However, with Bernardo, he argues that there is no such thing as a signal rehabilitation is feasible.
“That doesn’t mean don’t give him treatment programs that exist in maximum security, but you don’t move him into medium security. There is — notwithstanding they say they would never move him into minimum security — there is in my experience a cascading effect, which is of deep concern,” Danson stated.
“In my view, it is the punishment side, sending that message … that has to take priority.”
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