Reintegration is a good goal
The crime that robbed Jennifer Neville-Lake and her husband Edward of their children and her father shocks us still.
On a sunny September day in 2015, Marco Muzzo climbed behind the wheel of his SUV after returning in a private jet from his bachelor party in Miami. He was drunk.
In fact, he was nearly three times over the legal limit when he ran a stop sign in Vaughan and plowed into a minivan. In an instant he snuffed out the lives of Daniel, 9, Harrison, 5, and Milly, 2, as well as their grandfather Gary Neville. The accident also badly injured the kids’ grandmother, Neriza Neville, and great-grandmother, Josefina Frias.
In a searing victim impact statement, Jennifer Neville-Lake told him: “I don’t have anyone left to call me Mom. Not one left. You killed all my babies.”
In short, his crime was nothing short of monstrous.
But, despite being sentenced to10 years in jail for impaired driving, Muzzo was reportedly moved to a minimum-security prison last week. He will be eligible to apply for unescorted day release on Oct. 18.
On the face of it, this seems to be a travesty of justice.
Yet there is something else at play here: a cornerstone of our correctional system is a focus on reintegrating prisoners into society, even those we may consider to be monsters.
This isn’t just about being generous or kind to inmates. The policy exists because there is a wealth of research showing that prisoners are much more successful at re-entering society if they are allowed to take gradual steps outside prison walls and are able to maintain links with family and friends.
They are also much less likely to commit another crime. As a paper published by the John Howard Society, based on numerous studies, concludes: “Successful reintegration is one of the primary factors in reducing recidivism.”
In other words, allowing inmates such things as passes to visit with family makes our communities safer, not more dangerous. “Reintegration is a crucial component of community safety,” the society’s report emphasizes.
This applies to all prisoners — Muzzo included. As tough as it may be to accept, and despite the horror of his crime and his wealth and privilege — his family is worth an estimated $1.8 billion — Muzzo is eligible for the same opportunities for reintegration as any other inmate.
None of this is automatic. He will have to earn each step toward freedom, as others do.
First, in order to be moved to a minimum-security prison, he had to show that he is not a risk to the public or a flight risk and has been well-behaved inside.
Second, an “unescorted temporary absence,” or day release, is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Under Corrections Canada’s rules, such absences can be granted only for specific purposes, such as medical appointments, community service, family visits, personal development or rehabilitative reasons.
Prison officials must also consider that, like it or not, Muzzo already has a schedule for gradual freedom, mandated by law. He will be eligible for day parole in November 2018, full parole six months later and statutory release in June, 2022. They may well decide that it’s best for him to start on this path sooner with temporary absences.
Still, all that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow, especially for the Neville-Lake family.
On Sept. 26, the day before the anniversary of her children’s and father’s death, Neville-Lake wrote on Facebook: “I’ve learned about how unfair, unjust and just downright cruel it is that I have to wait to be driven daily to visit my children and my dad at their forever bed, to sit at the foot of a tombstone that bears their beautiful photos and the dates of their individual sunrises and sunsets.”
Nothing can ease the family’s pain. But the purpose of the prison system is not just to punish; it’s also to rehabilitate and eventually reintegrate offenders into society — even those whose crimes outrage decent people. No matter how unfair it may seem, Muzzo is now on that path.
Nothing can ease the pain of a family destroyed by a drunk driver. But the purpose of the prison system is not just to punish; it’s also to rehabilitate offenders