Guilty plea was a mistake: dad
Says federal prison not giving son adequate help for mental health, addiction issues
A Nova Scotia father hangs on to hope that his son will one day turn his life around, but the Kings County man now regrets not fighting a meth production charge that landed his son in a federal penitentiary.
Andrew Baltzer’s father, Carl Baltzer, and Carl’s partner, Leslie Sweet, reached out to media to share Andrew’s story following his sentencing last year.
In a recent interview, the couple expressed concern that Andrew, who will soon turn 25, isn’t getting the help he needs to deal with addiction and underlying mental health issues in the federal penitentiary in Dorchester, N.B.
On Jan. 18, 2018, Andrew was sentenced to two years and 30 days in federal custody for unlawfully producing methamphetamine in Kentville on March 10, 2017. He had been enrolled in the Court Monitored Mental Health Program (CMMHP) in Kentville at the time he pleaded guilty to that charge and to a count of mischief.
It was the belief Andrew would have access to appropriate programming on the inside that convinced Baltzer and Sweet that pleading guilty to the meth production charge was the right move for Andrew. They understood from what they were told by people working in the justice system that this would be the case but Baltzer said the reality has since hit home.
“If I had of known all of this was going to turn out this way, I would have had him plead not guilty and I would have fought it,” Baltzer said.
He is convinced that if they’d tried, they could have beaten the charge because Andrew didn’t have the necessary ingredients on hand to produce methamphetamine.
Baltzer said his son told him a long time ago he was using street drugs such as opiates to cope with or quiet the thoughts and voices in his head.
VISITING DORCHESTER
Leaving Andrew behind after each visit is a heart-wrenching experience. Andrew was initially in Springhill and they visited him there once. When the couple called to arrange another visit, they found out he had been moved, but weren’t told where.
They later learned that Andrew had been assaulted in jail and was relocated to Dorchester. He had been kicked in the face, resulting in a broken jaw, and had to have a
metal plate put in.
Baltzer and Sweet make the trip to New Brunswick to visit Andrew for two hours every four to five weeks.
From what they can see, he isn’t getting help for his mental health and addiction issues and he is unable to deal with those problems on his own.
“It’s very frustrating because it’s going to come the day that he is going to be released and we still have to deal with that problem, or he’s got to,” Baltzer said.
“When he gets out, he’s got to find something that he loves more than the drug, whether it be work, a relationship, whatever it may be.”
Sweet said that although Andrew thought it would be sooner, it looks like he won’t get into a program until at least March.
“He’s just walking around, angry with the system,” Sweet said.
Baltzer said that, considering the length of Andrew’s sentence and the time he has served, he probably should have been granted day parole by now. The couple speculates that it might be because he hasn’t had appropriate programming or because Andrew’s frustration, mental-health issues and behaviour are “working against him.”
JAIL IS NOT THE PLACE
The couple intends to continue advocating for long-term, courtordered rehab for people suffering mental health and addiction problems who get into trouble with the law.
Baltzer said it seems that Andrew is being viewed as just another criminal trying to beat the system, so his problems aren’t being taken seriously and he isn’t being rehabilitated.
Sweet said Andrew is frustrated. He says even when he gets appointments to see medical professionals, it seems that no one is listening and his issues aren’t being addressed.
“He’s come into one visitation with us and he was livid,” Sweet said. “I thought, ‘they’re going to take him out of here.’”
Baltzer recognizes that his son must be willing to accept help.
Sweet said they also recognize that more could be going on behind the prison walls than they are aware of, such as Andrew incurring institutional charges because of behavioural problems, for example.
She said Andrew did give them permission to speak with his program co-ordinator but “she wasn’t very forthcoming and she didn’t have a lot to share.”
“We’re still going to fight for him, whether he thinks he needs the help or not,” Sweet said.
IMMERSED IN SUBCULTURE?
Sweet said it seems that Andrew has become immersed in prison subculture as a way to cope with the situation. Andrew appeared so thin on one visit that Sweet and Baltzer became concerned that he might be bartering his food for drugs.
On another occasion, Andrew was sporting a large tattoo on his neck. They asked him where it came from and why he had it done. He told them the outline was an Asian letter. He was tattooed in the penitentiary using make-shift equipment.
“I think he probably got it just to be one of the guys, to fit in,” Baltzer said. “It’s a totally different culture.”