Global Courant
A Winnipeg man who lives with a cocaine addiction and has previously spent time in a county jail is behind bars again, this time in a federal prison – and it’s what he wanted.
Jason Walmsley, 34, told CBC in an interview at the federal Stony Mountain Institution that a prison sentence — as opposed to a county jail sentence at Headingley Correctional Center, where he previously served time — gives him a better chance of staying clean after he is convicted. issued.
With a county jail, “when my release date comes around, that’s exactly what it is — it’s a release. You’re let loose at the first bus stop in the west end of Winnipeg,” Walmsley said.
“I’m sure that when I’m released from this (federal) prison (and) while I’m in this prison, the biggest concern for them is something called my correction plan.”
Walmsley was released from Headingley in May 2019, after serving a nine-month prison sentence for crimes committed to fuel his drug addiction.
He was sober for more than three years, but relapsed in 2022 and was arrested again last November after a series of commercial burglaries and cocaine-related robberies.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February to two years’ imprisonment – a sentence jointly recommended by the Crown and his lawyer.
Typically, people sentenced to less than two years remain in provincial custody in a prison, while a sentence of two years or more is served in a federal prison.
Walmsley was released from Headingley Correction Center in 2019 but is back in custody after relapsing and committing a series of burglaries and robberies. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)
Before sentencing, Walmsley made a pros and cons list of various sentencing options his lawyer might recommend.
They included a sentence that would have kept him in county custody followed by supervised probation. While there, he was able to access a drug treatment program that he has previously attended.
He was told that the drug treatment court – a specialized court tailored to cases involving people with addiction – was also an option.
While the judge had the final say, Walmsley identified where he felt he could get the best support to stay away from drugs and crime.
“The one with the most check marks for the positives (was) Stony Mountain…which blew my mind,” he said.
“How can federal prison be the best option out of all those other options?”
‘It should bother us’: Prof
That’s a question society needs to ask itself, says Katharina Maier, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Winnipeg who specializes in sentencing, prisoner return, and drug abuse.
There is research to suggest that Walmsley’s preference for prison over provincial prison is not unique in Canada, she said.
That is “related to both greater access to rehabilitation programs in federal prisons compared to county prisons, as well as better conditions in federal prisons,” Maier said.
But “it should bother us that people are choosing the harshest form of punishment, which is federal incarceration in Canada, as opposed to arguably a less severe form of punishment.”
Katharina Maier is an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Winnipeg. She says it’s disturbing that “people are choosing the harshest form of punishment, which is federal incarceration in Canada, rather than an arguably less severe form of punishment.” (Josh Crabb/CBC)
More research is needed to compare conditions and return support between federal and provincial systems, she said, but other people’s experiences should be taken into account.
“It’s really important that we listen to people’s reasons for choosing federal incarceration because that tells us something about their struggles in the community. It also tells us something about the state of our prisons,” she said.
‘Falling off the car’
Since his release from Headingley in 2019, Walmsley has documented his experiences in first-person essays written for CBC.
Those perspectives allowed him to have a voice on the issue of addictions, Crown Attorney Sarah Murdoch told the court during Walmsley’s sentencing.
The court heard that Walsmley was doing “extremely well” under a previous probation order, but once it was over his problems began.
“He fell off the wagon and then fell back into old habits,” Murdoch told the court. “It looks like Mr. Walmsley is doing well when he has that support.”
But she noted that he preferred to go to penitentiary where “he feels he knows the resources available to him”.
Provincial Court Judge Kusham Sharma told Walmsley his perspective is important.
“To have someone like you tell us, ‘Hey, this is how it is… this is what I need,’ is really important for us to know what you’re going to help,” Sharma told Walmsley.
An archive photo shows Walmsley in his room in a residential care home. He says he hopes he gets counseling for trauma and mental health in the federal system. (Lyzaville Sales/CBC)
A provincial spokesman said plans for the release of detainees are being developed on a case-by-case basis, but acknowledged that on a “low-risk” release, a Headingley prisoner “could be transported to town and … transit and would be ticketed to go to their next location.”
In more complex cases, they can be transported to a treatment center or program, the spokesman said.
Chris Gamby of the Criminal Defense Lawyers Association of Manitoba said it can be challenging for inmates without proper support to rejoin the community.
“It’s sad to see someone who does really well in one of these programs, and then they come out and something happens and they come back in,” Gamby said.
Walmsley hopes he will receive counseling for trauma and mental health in the federal system.
“That’s paramount,” Walmsley said. “Being able to get out here with a plan is the literal difference between being dropped off at that bus shelter and being dropped off somewhere that can help you.”
