The federal Conservatives say Canadians angry over Paul Bernardo’s move to a medium-security prison have a Liberal government law to blame.
Bernardo is serving an indeterminate life sentence for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murders of teenagers Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s and has been designated a dangerous offender. One of the changes Harper’s bill made was to adjust the phrasing of corrections law away from saying officials should use “the least restrictive measures consistent with the protection of the public, staff members and offenders.”
Howard Sapers, the then-federal watchdog for corrections, told MPs that the change was concerning, given it was “one of the golden rules of corrections.” The British Columbia-based Prisoners’ Legal Services also applauded the move, saying prisoners were being unnecessarily kept in their cells for up to 23 hours a day.