July 28, 2023 – ‘Least restrictive…’
The Canadian Press / Castanet News (Kelowna, BC)
How Paul Bernardo’s prison transfer renewed an old legal debate over just two words
This article featuring Mary Campbell, a retired director-general of the Justice and Corrections Division of the Public Safety Ministry, brings the focus to the term ‘least restrictive’ as a controlling factor in the prison system, and the struggle over the years to see punishment added to punishment allegedly in the name of justice. Campbell reviews the requirements of law in the case of the transfer of Paul Bernardo to medium security prison. The notion of the least restrictive’ dominates the report of CSC Commissioner Anne Kelly in her report on the transfer. The Canadian Bar Association warned that the revisions to the ‘least restrictive’ were not constitutionally “good enough.” https://www.castanet.net/news/Canada/438456/How-Paul-Bernardo-s-prison-transfer-renewed-an-old-legal-debate-over-just-two-words Tweet from John Howard (Canada) on ‘Least restrictive”: “Least restrictive” is a cornerstone of correctional law. It is part of UN minimum rules on treatment of prisoners. Kudos Mary Campbell. https://twitter.com/JohnHoward_Can/status/1684183837327376384?s=20 Tweet from St. Leonard Society on ‘Lest restrictive’: “Using the least restrictive measures means that people are not to be subjected to custodial or punitive or controlling measures beyond what is necessary for public safety. This is fundamental to humane corrections!” https://twitter.com/StLeonards_Can/status/1684558617092018178?s=20 Related article: Globe and Mail – Nicole Myers The crisis in Canada’s bail system is not one of laxity https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-crisis-in-canadas-bail-system-is-not-one-of-laxity/
Winnipeg Sun – Glen Dawkins
Two charged with first-degree murder in deadly riot at Stony Mountain
A riot, initially called a large fight by Corrections staff, involving approximately 50 persons has resulted in one dead person, seven injured in hospital and six more released from hospital. Two of the rioters are charged with the murder. There were about 50 jail-made weapons found as well and two Corrections officers used firearms in the effort to stop the riot. The riot erupted July 17. https://winnipegsun.com/news/crime/two-charged-with-first-degree-murder-in-deadly-riot-at-stony-mountain Related article: CBC News – 1 inmate dies, 7 others injured after fight breaks out at Stony Mountain Institution – Union says ‘deadly riot’ another example of violence fuelled by drugs creating unsafe environment for officers https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/stony-mountain-prison-fight-1.6910105
CBC News – Ozten Shebahkeget
‘They’re human too’: Woman worries for brother’s safety at Manitoba prison after deadly riot – Stony Mountain must act in riot’s wake, but overreacting could impede prisoner rehabilitation: criminologist
On July 17, federal prison Stoney Mountain just north of Winnipeg erupted in disturbance or riot, depending on who is announcing the news. One incarcerated person killed and seven injured. The incident served to illustrate that violence is alive and well in the prisons but also that the families of all these incarcerated persons suffer needlessly when there are no updates or phone calls made to assure the family members that their loved ones are OK. The riot led to the capture of over 50 home-made weapons. Michael Weinrath, a University of Winnipeg criminologist, says prison environments often reflect their surrounding communities… We have a violent city, province, and homicide is a problem,” he told CBC News. “So when we see it inside our prisons, we shouldn’t be totally surprised.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/stony-mountain-riot-inmate-safety-1.6915649?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar Related tweet from John Howard (Canada) on prison violence: “As a society, we turn a blind eye to what’s happening in these institutions” and we should not. Reduce prison violence. Families should know if their loved one has been injured.” https://twitter.com/JohnHoward_Can/status/1684185936643465217?s=20
Government of Canada
Prime Minister announces changes to the Ministry
Relative to the work of justice in Canada there appears to be significant changes to the ministers in charge of specific ministries directly impacting: Arif Virani becomes Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; Dominic LeBlanc becomes Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs; Gary Anandasangaree becomes Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations; Marc Miller becomes Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship; Bill Blair becomes Minister of National Defence. https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2023/07/26/prime-minister-announces-changes-ministry Bio for the new minister of Justice and Attorney General Arif Virani, MP for Parkdale-High Park (ON): https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/arif-virani(88910) Tweet from Lisa Kerr to David Lametti: “Thank you for all your work. But especially for restoring judicial discretion to impose conditional sentences.” https://twitter.com/coleenlisa/status/1684526465050615808?s=20
The Canadian Press / CP24 – Allison Jones
Most kids with autism won’t get core therapy funding soon: Ontario ministry document
The core therapy program pays now for 20,000 autistic kids while 60,000 wait for the services. These services are not likely to come very soon, a matter of considerable upset to parents and caregivers who have already been waiting since January 2020 for promised changes. An internal assessment of the situation was obtained by the Canadian Press and paints a dire future for these families: “The current program budget is $667 million, but that will only serve about 20,000 children in core clinical therapies, the document says. Meanwhile, there are about 60,000 children seeking services through the program and about 7,000 more are added to the list each year.” The issue is one of the pressing concerns as the new Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, Michael Parsa takes office in the provincial Ontario Conservative government. https://www.cp24.com/news/most-kids-with-autism-won-t-get-core-therapy-funding-soon-ontario-ministry-document-1.6494493
The Marshall Project (US) – Keri Blakinger
The Books Banned in Your State’s Prisons
One often hears about banned books even in educational circles like elementary and high schools – as though reading makes one ‘woke’ rather than educated. Here is a comprehensive listing and commentary on the practice in all fifty states consequent to the fuss around the practice of banning books and whether such bans help or prevent personal growth. Needless to say, it is often also a cry from incarcerated persons that their own publications are often on the lists. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/12/21/prison-banned-books-list-find-your-state Related article: N.Y. Times – Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris Booksellers Move to the Front Lines of the Fight Against Book Bans in Texas – With a book-rating law set to take effect in September, a group of booksellers, along with publishers and authors, filed suit to argue that it is unconstitutional. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/25/books/book-banning-texas-lawsuit.html?smid=url-share
Human Rights Watch Report (US):
“I Just Want to Give Back” The Reintegration of People Sentenced to Life Without Parole
Between 1991 and 2021, the number of people sentenced in the US to Life without Parole (LWOP) has increased 350% – many of them youth under 18 at the time of their crime. Effectively, the sentence insists that a person sentenced to LWOP is beyond redemption. Yet those who have managed to escape death in prison for whatever reason are proving the final judgment woefully misleading. This report effectively raises issue with all long or indeterminate sentences as well as with the huge number of incarcerated people over fifty (given the deterioration prison brings 50 is now considered old age in prison). https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2023/06/usa_lwop0623.pdf (link is to a downloadable 29 page pdf.) Related tweet from Elizabeth Calvin of Fair Sentencing on LWOP: “Wow! @suziesuhkcal & @kcalnews just won an Emmy for a piece on the #NatlLWOPLeadershipCouncil! Watch & meet 2 people who had Life w/out Parole but are among the few released. And read the @hrw report to meet more: https://hrw.org/report/2023/06/28/i-just-want-to-give-back/reintegration-of-people-sentenced-to-life-without-parole Follow us @scscNow http://youtube.com/watch?v=G9h7Lj (A 10 minute Youtube video on the issue) https://twitter.com/billjrichardson/status/1683629912962502656?s=20 Tweet from Cell Secrets on the impact of imprisonment: “Society often thinks of incarceration as something people live through & from which they can ultimately be released. But the reality is that time spent in prisons & jails can create a host of collateral consequences that haunt people long after release.” https://twitter.com/cellsecrets/status/1683961955185311745?s=20
The Marshall Project – Lakeidra Chavis
A Dozen Cities Set Youth Curfews This Year, Even Though They Don’t Reduce Crime – Texas recently banned juvenile curfews, while cities like Baltimore and Memphis have doubled-down on them.
The move seems to suggest desperation rather than sensible and rational crime solving: some cities in the US are looking to reducing crime by bringing back curfews for youth. “Baltimore isn’t the only city bringing back a curfew. Since the start of the year, more than a dozen cities and counties have enacted curfews — or are once again enforcing them — in the name of youth safety, despite a mountain of research showing they have little effect on crime.” https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/06/29/youth-curfews-baltimore-texas?utm_source=subscriber-email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=TMP-Newsletter&utm_campaign=f98df18f2f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_07_26_07_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5e02cdad9d-f98df18f2f-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D
Sasktoday.ca – Lisa Joy
Behind bars love story: The unique prison wedding of the Gordons – The wedding ceremony, held within the confines of the federal prison, saw the participation of an unlikely gathering, breaking barriers and bridging gaps.
Stories like this are almost unheard but still a delight to know possible. “Prisoner advocate Sherri Maier tied the knot with convicted killer Bronson Gordon behind bars at a federal prison in Saskatoon.” It may well have been a memorable and special moment for the bride and groom but it is equally a reminder of the humanity we need to recall among incarcerated persons and their loved ones. The story is meant for romantics at heart but holds hope for transformation, acceptance and not defining oneself by a misdeed. https://www.sasktoday.ca/crime-cops-court/behind-bars-love-story-the-unique-prison-wedding-of-the-gordons-7310850 Related article: Los Angeles Times – Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu and Helen Li California’s free prison calls are repairing estranged relationships and aiding rehabilitation https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-07-27/free-calls-restore-inmates-ties-with-the-outside-can-they-reform-californias-prisons-too