(Ottawa) Newly released documents show that the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) blocked Paul Bernardo from asking his lawyer to testify to the media amid controversy surrounding his transfer to a medium-security prison.
Posted at 6:31 am
Stephanie Taylor The Canadian Press
In late May last year, Bernardo was transferred from the maximum-security Millhaven Institution near Kingston, Ont., to La Macaza Institution, a medium-security prison about 190 kilometers northwest of Montreal.
He is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping, rape and murder of two teenage girls, Kristen French, 15, and Leslie Mahaffy, 14, near St. Catharines, Ontario, in the early 1990s.
Bernardo was also convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the December 1990 death of 15-year-old Tammy Homolka, the younger sister of his ex-wife Karla Homolka. She pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was released in 2005 after serving a 12-year sentence for her involvement in those crimes. Bernardo eventually admitted to sexually abusing 14 other women.
His move last spring caused a political storm among the Liberals. Conservatives and the families of two of Bernardo’s victims have called for him to be returned to a maximum-security facility.
Ultimately, a review initiated by the CSC found that while the decision to reclassify Bernardo could have acted more sensibly in informing victims, the decision to reclassify Bernardo was the right one.
The email was released as part of a freedom of information request and was part of a series of messages between prison system staff and the Privy Council Office, which supports the work of the Prime Minister’s Office.
As the Liberals grappled with the fallout from moving one of Canada’s most reviled murderers to a medium-security prison, there were concerns that Bernardo would not speak out publicly.
“We have been told that Bernardo has discussed with his lawyer the possibility of speaking publicly to the media on his behalf,” a Correctional Service official wrote in a June 6 email to a Privy Council colleague.
“However, we have since intervened and spoken to him about consideration for the victim and were told that he would inform his lawyer. »
The email continued: “There is a small chance that the attorney has already spoken to the media.”
It does not appear that Bernardo’s lawyer ever made such a statement.
A Department of Corrections spokesman said it does not require offenders not to speak to the media, but cited a general process it uses when considering interview requests, including ensuring that doing so does not jeopardize an offender’s sentencing plan or glorify their crimes become.
“ [Nous n’avons] There are no records of interview requests made for this perpetrator during this time,” Kevin Antonucci wrote, without going into detail about the intervention in the Bernardo case, the email said.
Canadian Prison Law Association president Tom Engel said it is not the correctional service’s job to “muzzle” inmates.
“I can’t understand where [le Service correctionnel du Canada] “I think maybe that’s part of his job to protect victims from statements that a prisoner might make to the media,” he said in an interview Tuesday.
“I don’t know where they think they have the authority to do that. To me, this goes beyond their role as those responsible for custody, rehabilitation, and the like for prisoners. »
He said it was understandable for prison officials to intervene in security matters affecting inmates, such as when they caught an inmate trying to arrange a drug delivery. However, in this case, “I don’t see any authority or jurisdiction that they would have to do that, or any responsibility that they would have to do that,” he said.
The Department of Corrections’ review of Bernardo’s transfer concluded that he had been eligible for transfer for years, but that it only happened when he managed to integrate with more inmates, after most of his time spent his sentence in solitary confinement.
Nevertheless, the federal conservatives continued to push for a parliamentary committee to further investigate the decision.
Tim Danson, the longtime attorney for the French and Mahaffy families, said in an email that there was an issue with a general “lack of transparency” surrounding the transfer.
“Bernardo, of course, has the right to express himself freely, just as families and the general public have the right to access any information related to public safety,” he said.
Danson said the families have asked the Supreme Court of Canada to consider a request for access to Correctional Services and Parole Board of Canada records regarding Bernardo’s parole application, saying he has refused to release them.
He said that both the authorities and the federal government “support Bernardo in relation to the families.”
“Selecting the victims’ concerns therefore does not make sense. »
Bernardo’s next parole hearing is scheduled for February, Danson said.
Catherine Latimer, president of the John Howard Society of Canada, said it is only right that incarcerated people be given the opportunity to explain what happens to them in custody.
She and Mr. Engel wonder how prison officials learned that Bernardo had spoken to his lawyer about making such a statement, since conversations between a lawyer and his client are protected by attorney-client privilege.
The corrections department has not yet responded to questions about this.
Ms. Latimer argued that inmates should have access to the media “like any other citizen,” but acknowledged that their ability to testify may be limited when it comes to the safety of a facility or another inmate.
“I don’t know if it would have been effective or not. But I think he probably had a vested interest in speaking at that point. »