Dangerous offender denied

The former Calgary man declared a dangerous offender after stabbing his estranged spouse more than 40 times will remain locked up.

Raymond Adam Dagenais had applied for parole, but authorities rejected his bid to live outside prison earlier this month.

“Your risk to the community is considered undue and not manageable,” the Parole Board of Canada wrote in a review of Dagenais’ case on Sept. 7.

A judge declared Dagenais a dangerous offender in 2001 due to his history of serial spousal abuse.

Dagenais was convicted of attempted murder in relation to a stabbing attack that left his former common-law wife in a pool of blood in 1997. Prior to that, he had been convicted of assaulting the woman seven times in a three-year period.

In total, Dagenais has been convicted about 50 times for various offences — including 20 violent acts.

The dangerous-offender designation carries an openended sentence, but convicts can be released from prison after serving at least seven years. The parole board reviews cases every two years.

Dagenais was noted for a verbal outburst during his last review in 2010 wherein he told the board his victim was “a bitter person” and abruptly left the hearing.

Correctional staff report some gains in self-management since then, as Dagenais has completed several oneon-one counselling sessions with a psychologist.

But he remains at a “moderate risk to reoffend generally and violently,” recent risk assessments noted.

In his release plan, Dagenais indicated he wants to rent an apartment and would seek work as a sandblaster.

“Your proposed release plan is assessed as inadequate to manage the risk you now pose to the community as it does not sufficiently address your dynamic risk factors,” the parole board wrote.