Tallio granted escorted temporary jail absences
Parole Board of Canada members have decided to allow 52-year-old Phillip Tallio the first real steps outside prison he has taken since the age of 17.
Tallio has spent more than three decades in jail for the murder of a toddler in Bella Coola — a crime he claims he did not commit, and that he is now appealing. The inmate’s only absences from prison since January 1984 were for medical reasons, according to a parole board decision in late December.
Board members denied Tallio unescorted leaves in the decision, but separately authorized temporary absences under the watch of officers. Such brief, escorted absences are granted for family contact, parental responsibilities, personal development, and other reasons, according to Correctional Service Canada.
“This is the first time in almost 35 years that Phillip will be seeing the outside world, except for those couple of medical appointments,” Rachel Barsky, co-counsel on Tallio’s appeal, said Wednesday.
Not all prisoners need parole board approval for temporary absences, but Tallio did because he has a life sentence, Barsky said.
In 1983, a lawyer entered a guilty plea on the then-teenager’s behalf to the murder of 22-month-old Delavina Mack in Bella Coola. Tallio has maintained his innocence ever since.
Parole board members tend to be tough on prisoners who refuse treatment, or who don’t take responsibility for the crimes for which they were convicted. Until recently, Tallio has fit both those profiles.
It was only within the last few years that Tallio completed sex offender programs, and had only done so after being told he did not have to admit guilt to participate, according to the parole board decision.
Board members noted many factors in their decision to refuse unsupervised temporary absences. Among them were Tallio’s guilty plea, a confession he made to police that was ruled inadmissible in court, victim statements, childhood trauma he had experienced, concerns that he had become institutionalized in prison, and a pair of psychological assessments that deemed his risk of violent and sexual reoffending as being low-moderate to moderate.
The decision offered a deeper look into Tallio’s time in prison than was previously publicly available.
Tallio claimed to have been targeted in prison in the early years of his sentence due to the nature of the crime, according to the decision. His last fight was in 2011, it said.
In 1990 Tallio started to practise Aboriginal cultural traditions. He said he smudges and prays in private and speaks to an elder.
Lawyers for Tallio and the Crown are in the midst of a battle over whether and how to test a key piece of physical evidence in connection with his appeal. A decision on those questions is expected in the coming weeks.
Tallio is now at Mountain Institution, a medium security facility in Agassiz, but he stands near the top of a waiting list for a recently approved move to a nearby minimum security prison, his lawyer Barsky said.