These are the new freedoms Paul Bernardo could get in a medium-security prison
Paul Bernardo’s transfer to a medium-security facility has led to questions surrounding whether the move will mean new freedoms for the serial killer.
Bernardo was moved from a maximum-security prison at Millhaven Institution near Kingston to La Macaza Institution in Quebec last week.
His life sentence and designation as a dangerous offender are tied to the kidnap, rape, torture and murders of 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy and 15-year-old Kristen French in the early 1990s near St. Catharines.
Shane Martinez, an adjunct professor of prison law at Osgoode Hall Law School, told CTV News Toronto that in medium-security prisons, people have more “mobility and opportunity.”
He said at a medium-security facility, prisoners can roam around, spend less time locked-up, and have more programming and employment options at the institution.
This is compared to a maximum-security facility, where Bernardo previously spent 23 hours per day in a cell, according to CTV News public safety analyst Chris Lewis.
“That'll all change in the medium (security prison),” he said.
“It’s just more relaxed. We’re not talking Club Med here by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a more relaxed environment,” Lewis said.
However, Martinez still called the security at a medium-security facility “significant,” even though it might be less so than at a maximum-security prison.
La Mascaza, which is located right beside Mont Tremblant International Airport, is a stand-alone facility built on an open campus model with a capacity of 240 inmates, according to Correctional Service of Canada. The federal organization called it a “secure and controlled institution – with every precaution in place to maintain public safety.”
“It is important to know that medium security facilities have the same perimeter controls as maximum security institutions (high fences, armed controls, armed correctional officers equipped with proper security equipment etc.) These facilities are strictly guarded 24/7, inmate movement is controlled, and we have rigorous security protocols.”
Martinez said the environments of medium and maximum-security facilities are definitely different. “But for him, I have a hard time seeing the experience being marked as different given how he is going to be isolated,” he said.
From his perspective, Martinez said it’s “relatively safe to presume” Bernardo will be kept in isolation.
The Correctional Service of Canada said it is “restricted by law” when it comes to what they can release about why Bernardo was transferred, citing his privacy rights when asked.
“Security classifications and transfers are based on: risk to public safety, escape risk, an offender’s institutional adjustment, and other case-specified information, such as psychological risk assessments,” the federal organization said in a statement on Monday afternoon.
Timothy Danson, a Toronto lawyer who represented the families of French and Mahaffy, said he informed them of the transfer last week and he said he could, “feel and sense their anguish and their despair and their sadness and their disbelief at the fact that there's a complete absence of transparency with respect to this decision,” Danson said on Monday.
"It's pretty disturbing,” he said.
“We asked why? What was the basis for it? What was the process? And they refused to answer our questions,” Danson said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.