Latest news with #AlbertaCrown
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Roy Sobotiak, Canada's longest-serving wrongfully convicted prisoner, granted bail after 35 years for Edmonton woman's murder
The Roy Sobotiak who walked into an Edmonton courtroom this week barely resembled the man in the photo that has accompanied news articles about his case for 35 years. The young man in the photo had dark brown hair, brown eyes, the barest trace of stubble. The man in court was grey — his long hair falling from the bare crown of his head to his neck. He wore a handlebar moustache, and a Cross on a necklace over a half-unzipped prisoner's jumpsuit. He furrowed his brow and smiled faintly as he sat in the prisoner's box, awaiting the judge. On Friday, Sobotiak, 61, was granted release from custody for the first time since his 1989 arrest for the murder of Susan Kaminsky. Earlier this year, then-federal Justice Minister Arif Virani tossed Sobotiak's conviction and ordered a new trial, saying a review of the case suggested Sobotiak was wrongfully convicted. Sobotiak's lawyers say he is the longest-serving wrongfully convicted prisoner in Canadian history. 'When he went in, Mr. Sobotiak said to me a couple days ago, cellphones only fit in briefcases,' defence lawyer James Lockyer told Court of King's Bench Justice Eric Macklin. 'One of the lawyers here was four years old when he went into custody.' Lockyer said the Alberta Crown — which is challenging Virani's decision overturning the conviction — has yet to decide whether it will retry Sobotiak. In the interim, Sobotiak plans to live in a group home in Fort McMurray. Macklin said as it stands, Sobotiak is legally innocent. He declined the Crown's request to order Sobotiak remain on house arrest, saying it was 'neither necessary nor reasonable in the circumstances.' Sobotiak was convicted of second-degree murder July 11, 1991, for the death of Kaminsky, who went missing in 1987 and has never been found. Kaminsky — Sobotiak's one-time babysitter — spent the evening before her disappearance with Sobotiak and his mother. She was 34. Police arrested Sobotiak for first-degree murder in 1989. Jurors found him guilty after a trial that hinged in part on video of Sobotiak admitting he killed Kaminsky. Sobotiak recently filed an application for a review of his case under section 696 of the Criminal Code. The federal justice minister, in a first, asked Innocence Canada to take on the case to ensure Sobotiak had legal counsel. The organization has helped exonerate 30 people, including David Milgaard. Virani, who was advised by a judge, later filed a 166-page report revealing problems with evidence disclosure and 'forensic issues' in the case. The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service's response 'strongly resisted, as strongly as you can imagine,' the minister's conclusions, Lockyer said. Lockyer said the fact the federal ministry decided to set aside the conviction is telling, noting they're 'hardly friends of Mr. Sobotiak.' 'They're prosecutors,' he said. Alberta Crown prosecutor Joanne Dartana agreed to Sobotiak's release but said he should remain on house arrest. She cited information from parole board reports and psychological assessments which found Sobotiak engaged in 'aggressive and violent sexual fantasies' and other concerning behaviour toward female corrections staff. He also allegedly possessed 'graphic' sexualized content, some of it homemade, some involving children, she said. Lockyer acknowledged the Crown painted a 'pretty unpleasant picture' of his client, but stressed Sobotiak has been in an 'unnatural environment' since he was 26. '(He has) insisted since Day 1 he shouldn't be there in the first place,' Lockyer said. 'It's hard to imagine the pressures he's been under for all those years.' He added: 'What's surprising, perhaps, and should be known, is he has not been charged with a street charge in 36 years of extreme frustration.' Lockyer opposed house arrest, saying it would 'swap one prison for another.' Macklin said the Crown's concerns could largely be addressed short of house arrest, with conditions such as curfews and residence requirements. He said putting Sobotiak on house arrest would be 'tantamount to substituting one prison, albeit a more relaxed one with a different jailer, for another.' The judge also made a point of criticizing the Edmonton Remand Centre, saying it was 'entirely inappropriate' Sobotiak was not provided street clothes before Friday's hearing. Sobotiak owns no non prison-issue clothing and 'hasn't got a penny to his name,' Lockyer said, noting Innocence Canada will be providing Sobotiak a 'reasonably substantial amount of money' to start rebuilding his life. Prior to Virani's decision, Sobotiak was incarcerated at Bowden Institution, located roughly 192 kilometres south of Edmonton. Before Sobotiak, the longest-serving wrongfully convicted person in Canadian history was Romeo Phillion, who spent more than 32 years in prison. jwakefield@ @ Alberta seeks judicial review of federal decision granting new trial to man convicted of murder in 1987 missing persons case Justice minister orders new trial for Edmonton man convicted of murder in 1991 You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun
CBC
24-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Patients will need extensive support after involuntary addiction treatment: Alberta agency
Social Sharing An Alberta Crown corporation that studies addiction recommends that any involuntary treatment be done for longer time periods because shorter stays seem ineffective. In a paper released on Friday, the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE), an Alberta Crown corporation, says the province will need to provide a robust network of support after patients leave forced treatment centres if they want the approach to succeed. "The goal is to say, 'Hey, look across the spectrum of things we can do. What's the best in class, and are there ways that we can offer this to the people who need it most?' " said Dr. Nathaniel Day, CoRE's scientific director and one of the paper's authors. The United Conservative Party government in the 2023 provincial election pledged to introduce involuntary addiction treatment for adults. The provincial government created CoRE last year to study the best ways to support addiction recovery. CoRE spokesperson Katy Merrifield said the government asked CoRE to review existing evidence and similar models of involuntary treatment to advise the government on how to develop an Alberta program. The government has said it will introduce what it calls "compassionate intervention" legislation this year, which would allow police, doctors, family members or a guardian to request mandatory drug treatment for a person with severe addiction. Provincial data shows 1,182 people died of opioid poisoning in 2024 in Alberta. Although it was a 37 per cent drop from the previous year, an average of three people are dying each day. Day and his co-authors reviewed research on involuntary treatment, which the paper calls "civil commitment," in Canada, the U.S., some European countries and Australia. It says most of the research was done before the development of opioid agonist treatment, which consists of long-acting medications that can cut poisoning deaths by half. The authors also looked at professionals such as nurses, pilots, doctors and dentists who were required to take drug treatment programs to retain their professional credentials or jobs. It's a group the report acknowledges is not a perfect comparison to the general population. They found the "current literature is not adequate to determine the effect of civil commitment in general, or determine which interventions are beneficial and to what degree." In the studies that tracked post-treatment deaths, five-to-10 per cent of people died. The authors also found many patients who initially were forced into treatment were later compliant with recovery and grateful for the help. They recommend keeping patients in treatment as long as the person needs, offering medications to prevent overdoses, help people find training or jobs, and offer follow-up therapy, peer support and check ins to help keep them sober. The province should accept that some patients will have permanent brain damage and impairments and long-term mental illness and may need lifelong support, the says. The report says patients should have access to appeals and review mechanisms for involuntary treatment, but doesn't recommend timelines. Day said the province shouldn't be deterred by an absence of comprehensive studies. "Just because something does not have clear literature, doesn't mean it isn't valuable," he said. Psychiatrist worries about unaddressed harms Dr. David Crockford, a University of Calgary psychiatrist who specializes in addiction medicine, and was not involved in the report, says the document fails to address some of the risks of involuntary therapy. He said data from Australia shows a disproportionate number of Indigenous people and new immigrants in forced treatment. Detaining and treating people who have already experienced trauma could lead to further feelings of distrust, and prevent some of those people from voluntarily seeking medical help in the future, he said. There should also be short timelines in which patients can appeal their detention, like those included in the province's mental health legislation, he said. "People can choose not to get the measles vaccine, can choose not to get the COVID vaccine and their rights are being vehemently upheld," he said. "And yet, people who are the most vulnerable are having their rights taken away from them, and being subject potentially to something which might be damaging." Post-treatment overdose rates can also be higher in patients who were involuntarily treated compared to those who willingly participated, he said. Crockford said it's unclear whether the recommendations apply to any substance addiction, including tobacco or cannabis, or just opioids. He said the authors don't define a "severe" addiction that could warrant involuntary treatment. He said patients seeking voluntary treatment in Alberta still struggle getting access to detox and longer-term inpatient treatment centres. He said that system should be expanded before forcing people into treatment. In a statement, Hunter Baril, press secretary to the minister of mental health and addictions, did not directly say how the government will use the CoRE recommendations. "No jurisdiction in the world has built the system Alberta is building to bring people out of addiction and into recovery, including through treatment orders for those who have become a danger to themselves or others," the statement said.
