OTTAWA, Ontario, Nov. 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Office of the Correctional Investigator’s (OCI) 2023-2024 annual report brings attention to a sentencing regime that gets little public attention, life sentences.
Many people in Canada may be unaware that life sentenced people represent 26% of the total federally sentenced population. Many may also be unaware that Canada has one of the harshest versions of life sentences globally, as the OCI report highlights, emphasizing that a parliamentary study show[s] that “Canada exceeds the average time served [in custody by a person with a life sentence] in all countries surveyed”.
The OCI report highlights many significant issues about which researchers and non-governmental organizations such as the St. Leonard’s Society of Canada and the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies have long been raising attention.
The OCI report and investigation into the status of penitentiary experiences of life sentenced people emphasizes that “punishment without purpose or end” leaves a significant portion of Canada’s prison population is subjected to conditions that work against the goals of our legal and penal system and work against human dignity more broadly.
“Most instances of conviction of life sentenced people (approximately 80%) result from violence that spontaneously erupted, and particularly for women, many convictions result from instances of unrecognized self defense” says Emilie Coyle, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies.
Life sentenced people are overwhelmingly drawn from Canada’s most vulnerable and socio-economically disadvantaged communities. Similar to figures representing Canada’s total federal prison population, the Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview demonstrates that Indigenous people comprise an alarming percentage of life sentenced people in Canada: Over ¼ of life sentenced people overall are Indigenous. Between 2012 and 2022, approximately 40% of all women given life sentences have been Indigenous, and approximately 30% of men have been Indigenous. Furthermore, the OCI notes that Black prisoners have a greater representation among those sentenced to life compared to all federal prisoners. Multiple federal mandate letters and strategies have called for addressing the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous Peoples in the criminal legal system, yet these and other statistics continue to worsen.
A recently published qualitative research study focusing on people on parole for life in Canada from the University of Victoria by PhD Candidate Nyki Kish found that most participants of the research were given life sentences as youth or as very young adults. This finding is confirmed by University of British Columbia Professor Debra Parkes’ research into the prevalence of life sentences imposed on young people in Canada, contrary to international human rights standards.
Rising numbers of life sentenced people in Canada being punished in penitentiaries ‘without purpose or end’ leads to Canada’s prison system being an aging one. A 2021 research study published by Dalhousie Law professor Adelina Iftene notes the effect of lengthy and lifetime incarceration on people in prisons, documenting in her 2021 publication Punished for Aging: Vulnerability, Rights and Access to Justice in Canadian Penitentiaries that long-term incarceration reduces a person’s life expectancy by 20 years from the general population in Canada.
As the OCI investigation notes, life sentenced people are deprioritized in penitentiary environments, receiving fewer programs and services than their peers with fixed sentences. Simultaneously, “unreasonable behavioural expectations” furthers barriers to their eventual community reintegration. “It is clear that many federally-sentenced people, particularly those with a life sentence, experience punishment beyond the deprivation of liberty. There are enough recommendations grounded in research that detail both humane and harmful correctional practices. With this, Canada must knowingly decide whether we seek to address or perpetuate harm.” – Anita Desai, Executive Director of SLSC
Those who work closely in the prison system, confirm the OCI report’s investigation, underscoring that the current system is both harmful to individuals and public safety, and needlessly expensive. “We are learning that life sentenced people are less likely to receive programs and services within reasonable timeframes. We need a system that can assess and determine a person’s readiness for parole. Lengthy parole ineligibility periods and an absence of policy direction for life sentenced people results in consistently longer amounts of time spent in prison” writes associate professor Tamara Humphrey, who works regularly inside prisons with life sentenced men, and who is currently conducting research on people’s experiences on parole.
Even when life sentenced people do return to the community, they experience conditions that are more punitive, harsh, and restrictive than those of most countries globally that were surveyed in a 2019 Harvard University Publication. Unlike most nations which adjust community supervision based on risk and gradually release people over time, Canada is punishing people intensely, and until they die. People with life sentences in the community experience isolation and a lot of persistent fear of reincarceration. Many of these people went to prison when they were 17, 18, or 19 years old. Now they are in their 50’s, 60’s, or 70’s. They are aging on parole, and when they experience cognitive and/or physical decline, this is interpreted as “risk” by the Correctional Service of Canada, and they are reincarcerated. Canadian penitentiaries are not medical facilities, they are not equipped to respond to health and aging needs.
“As family members of incarcerated people, we know the OCI report accurately details and brings to light the harsh realities of our loved ones’ lives in prison. We urge CSC to give due attention to the recommendations and move to action without delay,” offers Farhat Rehman, an active member of the Ottawa based support group for parents of incarcerated people, Mothers Offering Mutual Support.
For Media Inquiries please contact
The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies: [email protected]
Signatories
Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies
Debra Parkes, Professor and Chair in Feminist Legal Studies, University of British Columbia
St. Leonard’s Society of Canada
Tamara Humphrey, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria
Farhat Rehman, Mothers Offering Mutual Support
