Court rules it’s lawful to house young offender in adult facility
The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has ruled that it’s lawful for a young offender serving a sentence for second-degree murder who was allegedly involved in a riot at the Waterville youth facility to be housed temporarily at an adult facility.
The young offender, who stabbed a man to death, was serving his custodial sentence of three years and 326 days at the Nova Scotia Youth Centre in Waterville.
On Sept. 4, 2016, video cameras at the facility recorded what was described in a written decision from the Supreme Court as “an ongoing chaotic and violent episode” in which several youths took part.
The subject young offender was seen to be instrumental in making this happen and personally had violent contact with four adult staff members who incurred what were described as “significant injuries.”
As a result of the incidents in Waterville, the young offender is now charged with eight offences, including taking part in a riot, assaulting a peace officer with a weapon and three counts of assaulting peace officers causing bodily harm.
A Correctional Services adjudicator penalized him by withdrawing privileges and confining him to a cell for 15 days. On Sept. 6, 2016, the young offender was transferred to Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, an adult prison near New Glasgow designated to hold young persons in two transitional housing units.
His “close confinement” ended on Sept. 19 but the young offender has remained at North Nova. As of a March 13 Supreme Court hearing in Pictou, the young offender was at North Nova for 200 days.
The young offender filed a Notice of Application on Feb. 15 for the Supreme Court to conduct a “habeas corpus” hearing and examine the lawfulness of his continued detention at North Nova.
In his written decision dated March 23, Judge Peter Rosinski said the young offender had regular contact with legal counsel between Sept. 19, 2016, and March 13, 2017. He made it known that he did not wish to be returned to the youth centre.
By October 18, 2016, he had started the process for a Youth Criminal Justice Act application to be transferred to an adult facility to serve his sentence once he turned 18 late in 2016.
It was not until Feb. 15 that “he did an about-face” and announced he would be seeking relief from the Supreme Court by way of an application to be returned to the Waterville youth facility with the same privileges he had immediately prior to the Sept. 4 riot.
On Feb. 23, IWK Hospital staff “extraordinarily waived” the confidentiality of their communications with the young offender because of “disturbing comments” he had made.
The young offender stated that “he will show them (youth centre staff) blood will flow” if he returned to Waterville and they tried to place him somewhere other than his former unit.
Rosinski ruled that, after an examination of all the circumstances, the decision of the provincial director to transfer the young offender to North Nova and to house him there until March 13 was “within the range of reasonable outcomes available to the director.”
“I conclude that (the young offender’s) transfer to North Nova, and his continued housing there to March 13, 2017, was lawful,” Rosinski wrote.