TORONTO - Martin Ferrier was supposed to have been the worst kind of menace to society: a violent psychopathic sexual deviant with aspirations to make a name for himself as Canada's worst serial killer.

His own mother, who warned she would shoot to kill if he threatened her, said so. A prison psychologist said so. Police in Peel region just west of Toronto warned of the danger he posed.

Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was just a campaigning Conservative leader in 2004, held the hulking Ferrier up as a poster-villain for all that was wrong with a justice system that frees career criminals and "serial rapists."

But three years after he opted to return to a federal penitentiary in central Ontario for two years because he couldn't bear being hounded by the media, Ferrier, who turns 35 Monday, has so far confounded his critics.

"I'm doing good. I'm making good money. I'm being a productive part of society," he told The Canadian Press in an exclusive interview from his apartment in Montreal.

"It was really touch and go. But I wouldn't trade this life for the world right now."

After The Canadian Press first debunked the lurid allegations that made him front-page news in July 2004, an award-winning documentary by John Kastner called "Monster in the Family" raised further questions about Ferrier's situation when it aired last year.

Now, CTV is set to air Kastner's compelling sequel "The Struggle Continues" on Sept. 29, a week after this Saturday's rebroadcast of the original documentary.

The sequel follows Ferrier, who had spent 15 of 17 adult years behind bars, through an emotionally turbulent first year of unrestricted freedom.

"He's pretty close to that dangerous state of becoming so institutionalized that he cannot function," Kastner said from his Toronto office.

Initially, Ferrier seems destined to fail, just as his mother and most everyone else predicted he would.

"I prefer to be back inside," he tells Kastner in the documentary. "I hate trying to learn new things. I prefer to be back where I know what life is all about and I can just go about my business without being bothered."

Kastner held his breath.

"It's this struggle between can he stay out long enough holding on by his fingernails, or is he going to slip and commit a crime and go back?"

The turning point comes with finding a job, a new apartment furnished with his own hard-earned cash and a black cat he named Peyton after NFL superstar Peyton Manning.

"It sounds weird, but it's almost like my cat saved me," Ferrier said. "It's teaching me; I've got responsibilities."

One of the most poignant moments in the sequel is when Ferrier goes to Cobalt, Ont., to meet his mother Judy Perry, who by turns has described him very publicly as a monstrous psychopath and a "teddy bear" with a big heart.

Fearing he was suicidal, Perry dumped her son in a mental institution at age 13 even though doctors said he was fine. Still, Ferrier always craved her approval, even through his years behind bars.

No longer, he said.

"As sad as it sounds, she's my mother, but I don't want anything to do with her," he said. "I don't want to give her the opportunity to try to sabotage things."

The new documentary raises troubling questions about a parole system that keeps inmates behind bars until the day they are essentially kicked out, and about the fondness Canadian politicians have for thumping law-and-order themes without knowing the facts.

"I'd be in prison for the rest of my life if Stephen Harper had his way," Ferrier says.

There are also questions about media coverage and whether, as Ferrier suspects, Peel police were pursuing a vendetta because he had embarrassed his estranged father Don Ferrier, a former long-time member of the force.

In his 20s, Ferrier was convicted of arson endangering life for setting fire to his girlfriend's empty apartment after a messy breakup -- he admits to that dangerous stupidity -- and forcing her to commit a sex act, something he denies.

At one point, he spent 20 harrowing months in strict isolation without any charge simply for refusing to agree to 17 onerous restrictions Peel police were demanding because he considered it unconstitutional.

Peel police refused to comment or to explain why they pressed their Quebec counterparts to go after Ferrier when he left prison 14 months ago. Although it took almost a year, authorities there decided they had no grounds to limit his freedom.

Several months ago, Ferrier's estranged sister, who had wanted nothing to do with him because he scared her so much, suddenly sought contact.

"She was saying she needed a kidney and if I could bring myself to help her she would appreciate it but it wouldn't help us out with being brother and sister again," he recalled.

"It was sort of weird. She wanted me to give her a kidney but she didn't want to have a relationship with me. It turns out, she's sort of like my mom."

Ferrier now works security at a strip club, a job that pays the bills while he learns French and prepares to delve into computers. He's about to buy a car.

"They all said he's going to get out there and he's a monster waiting to strike," Kastner said. "He has surprised us all. It's just amazing. He's like a new man."

Once wrongly vilified as a "serial rapist," Martin Ferrier now says he's doing well. A brief chronology:

  • Sept. 17, 1972: Ferrier born to Don and Judy Ferrier in Mississauga, Ont.
  • 1985: Mother sends 13-year-old Ferrier to a mental institution for allegedly being suicidal.
  • October 1992: Released after serving 16-month sentence for fraud.
  • 1993: Psychiatric assessment finds no major disorders.
  • June 1994: Ferrier sentenced to four years, eight months for arson endangering life and sexual assault of ex-girlfriend.
  • Feb. 1999: Ferrier released from Warkworth Institution.
  • May 1999: Ferrier brandishes replica weapon during standoff with Peel police. Jailed for one year.
  • June 2000: Peel police arrest Ferrier a day after his release. They want him to sign a recognizance order.
  • June 2000 - Feb. 2002: Ferrier spends 20 months in strict segregation for refusing to sign order. He tells psychologist he wants to be a prolific serial killer in hopes of getting out of isolation.
  • Feb. 14, 2002: Set for release, Ferrier threatens brother-in-law in court. Sentenced to two years.
  • June 1, 2004: Conservative Leader Stephen Harper refers to Ferrier as a "serial rapist."
  • June 28, 2004: Peel police warn of the imminent release of Ferrier, whom they describe as an "incurable psychopath."
  • July 6, 2004: Ferrier released to media frenzy; charged with threatening reporter.
  • July 7, 2004: Ferrier asks for and gets two-year sentence.
  • Feb. 6, 2005: The Canadian Press reports allegations against Ferrier overblown.
  • June 24, 2006: CTV airs John Kastner documentary "Monster in the Family."
  • July 5, 2006: Ferrier quietly released. Moves to Quebec. Peel police ask Quebec for recognizance order.
  • June 21, 2007: Quebec authorities decide no reason for recognizance order requested by Peel police.