"Please sir, put me anywhere except the Lock Up." Those words were spoken to me by a federal inmate who I was bringing back to Newfoundland for a court appearance. The inmate was a resident of Nova Scotia's Springhill Institution, courtesy of my former colleges at the RCMP's St. John's Drug Section. The Lock Up is the temporary holding facility for those awaiting court appearances in St. John's. The clientèle there are mostly those who were arrested during the previous night for any number of alleged wrongdoings. Alcohol is often a factor that lends itself to getting on the wrong side of the law, so the Lock Up also has a "drunk tank", where the inebriated can sleep it off - albeit, best done with one eye open! The Lock Up is like something from Middle Ages, minus only the rack and guillotine.
Having never visited Springhill Federal Pen, the few hours I spent with this guy were enough to paint me a nice picture. I believe his exact words were "I love it there." A world class gym, better than basic cable in his private room...I mean cell, and the best food my new acquaintance ever had.. I also learned that he had a rough upbringing and a very unsettled home life as a kid, so his bar may have been set a little lower than for what most of us would consider a decent life. Still, as a deterrent to a committing crime, it was clear to me that jail time was anything but, for this citizen. Our federal penal system managed to provide all of the comforts of house and home. So well, in fact, that it represented a better life than anything he had experienced previously. I got the feeling that he wasn't looking forward to the day that those steel doors closed behind him and he had to fend for himself in the world of free men. On that day a few years into the future, I pictured him standing in front of the doors of Springhill Pen, staring at the vastness and uncertainty of the world before him, then turning and running back to the cold steel door and hitting it with flailing arms while screaming "Let me in.".
Let's come back to the present. Eight years or so have passed since I first met Springhill Pen's #1 fan. I'm no longer a police officer but buddy still finds himself mixed up with some pretty serious criminal charges. Murder is as heinous as it gets. A few months ago, a physical altercation resulted in a man's death and my former travelling companion is alleged to have killed this person. Given the seriousness of the crime, he has been in custody in St. John's ever since. His newest home would be our provincial jail, located on the shores of beautiful Quidi Vidi Lake. What can I say about the aged and decrepit place other than it's a hole! Everything that Springhill Institution is, the "Pen" isn't. Couple that with the fact that he would be making frequent stopovers at the Lock Up as his murder case makes it's way through our system of justice at the usual pace of a tortoise, then I see buddy as being very dissatisfied with his accommodations. That was confirmed when it was recently revealed that he was planning a prison break. His efforts were detailed and advanced enough that he now faces additional charges of attempting to escape lawful custody.
So what do we take from all of this. It's probably fair to say that this is a very troubled individual. Long before I took him from the comfortable confines of Springhill Institution, he likely had caused his more than his allotted share of mayhem in our little corner of the world. Somewhere along the road travelled, he has seemed to come to the perverse realization that getting caught for a crime that carries a penalty of "2 years less a day" just isn't worth committing. Those crimes mean serving your jail time at one of our Newfoundland jails, most likely at the Pen. So unless you go big, you'll have to stay at home.
A conviction for murder could see him go away for life, which means 10 to 15 years in our justice system. If that befalls him, off he'll go to one of our federal pens. He's probably hoping for Springhill. The good news for him is there are even nicer places. Some of our country''s "best" criminals reside in town house style luxury that have all of the status and security that come from being in a true gated community.
If I were the Judge (now there's a laugh), as buddy was standing before me and I was finding him guilty of murder, I'd wipe the smile from his face very quickly. I wouldn't give him 10 years, 20 years or even 50 years. There'd be no Club Fed for him. I'd smash the gavel down and pronounce sentence - "Two years less a day, to be served at Her Majesty's Penitentiary, St. John's with weekends at the Lock Up." I can picture him now, standing at the cold steel door and hitting it with flailing arms while screaming "Let me out.". Now that would be justice served and a warning to those thinking of travelling that sane road.
In case you are wondering, eight years ago I dropped my friend off at the Lock Up. I was naive enough to try to find a better jail cell for him, but had no luck in doing so. It turned out that's where he belonged.
