Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jul 2009
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2009 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Gary Dimmock
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

CANADIAN CAUGHT IN U.S. PRISON LIMBO

Americans OK Transfer From 'Tough' Jail, But Canada Fears Man Will 
Return To Organized Crime

The Harper government has denied an Alberta man's bid for a transfer 
from a U.S. jail to a Canadian prison on the grounds that he may one 
day commit a crime.

Brent James Curtis, 28, is in a privately-run, for-profit prison in 
California serving 57 months after pleading guilty to a $1-million 
U.S. drug trafficking conspiracy in 2007.

It was his first offence and he pleaded guilty to it right away, 
saying he was drawn to so-called easy money. He told his family that 
he didn't feel right mounting a defence because he was guilty.

The one-time elite hockey player -- benched from any chance in the 
NHL after getting hit by a truck -- makes an interesting argument to 
win a prison transfer, saying not only that he wants to serve the 
remainder of his sentence -- two years -- closer to his family and 
support network, but that if he isn't transferred, he will return 
home after completing his U.S. sentence without a criminal record in Canada.

The Correctional Service of Canada has confirmed that if Curtis 
doesn't get a transfer and serves out his term in the U.S., he will 
return home "a free man" without a criminal record in the system.

But if the Harper government approves the transfer, which the U.S. 
administration has already done, Curtis would, in fact, have a 
criminal record in the Canadian criminal system.

Curtis has also used the very root of the international prisoner 
transfer treaty in his request, notably that it was founded on 
rehabilitation and reintegration into the community -- something the 
Harper government has now dismissed.

"This is a tough place. I'm losing everything, every day," said 
Curtis, one of a dozen Canadians in the California private prison, 
known for its warring Mexican drug gangs. He has not been afforded 
any rehabilitation programs or schooling.

"The weird thing about this all is that I am coming home regardless 
of getting the transfer. My release date is 2011. If I do not get the 
transfer I will have zero rehabilitation and never get fingerprinted 
by Canada," said Curtis, who intends to go back to school upon his return.

"Wouldn't Peter van Loan (Canada's public safety minister) want me to 
receive supervision on parole and programs to help me re-integrate 
into Canada?"

If he did get into trouble with the law in Canada, Curtis would be 
treated as a first-time offender. "The public safety minister's 
tough-on-crime stance really seems short sighted to me."

Van Loan has signed a rejection letter saying that because Curtis's 
role was a "money man" and "transporter" in the drug conspiracy, he 
has "already taken several steps down the road towards involvement in 
a criminal organization offence. Given the nature of the applicant's 
acts, I believe that he may, after the transfer, commit a criminal 
organization offence."

But according to U.S. authorities, Curtis was not, in fact, the 
"money man" -- rather a courier for the money man in the Miami 
cocaine conspiracy. In a sentencing hearing, U.S. authorities 
described Curtis as a "minor participant."

His U.S. lawyer, Marc Seitles, has worked on several international 
transfer cases, and says "Of all the countries, I cannot believe that 
Canada, a country seemingly known to be more humane than the United 
States, won't let one of its Canadian citizens come home, especially 
a bright kid like Brent."

In Calgary hockey circles, Curtis is known as a former elite player 
who, despite his career setback, went on to volunteer as a triple-A 
coaching assistant to help young athletes get good enough to make the NHL.

In a letter of support filed with a U.S. court for a sentencing 
hearing, Jim Finney, a coach for Minor Midget AAA Blackhawks, wrote 
about the impact Curtis had as a volunteer coach on the team:

"The passion that Brent showed for each of the kids will stay with 
them for the rest of their lives. In a volunteer position such as 
this one, the rewards were not financial, but rather emotional. Brent 
was emotionally invested in the team, and that was abundantly clear 
to anyone that saw him."

Donna Cornaccia, the team's director, said that Curtis has a 
"genuineness about him which is imperative when dealing with youth, 
they have the ability to see through a false presentation and can 
quickly identify when an adult is not being sincere. Brent has had a 
huge positive impact on many of these young adults. He has been a 
confidant and a trustworthy person for whom these youth can go to if 
needed ... Brent is a compassionate, kind and considerate individual 
whom I am proud to know."

Curtis not only had a reputation as a tough hockey player in Calgary, 
but made a point of publicly speaking out against drugs -- especially 
when it came to his sister's "druggie" friends. As an athlete, he 
repeatedly told his sister to stay clear of drugs.

The son of a high school teacher, Curtis became a day trader at the 
age of 25, only to find out he wasn't that good at it.

"Unfortunately, I had trouble earning a living and made the horrible 
error of trying to make fast, illegal money," he said.

Through an old friend, Curtis, at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, was 
recruited in 2007 to be the wheelman for the purchaser. He drove the 
car to a Miami parking lot, where they met the cocaine dealer who was 
actually a police informant. Then, after the purchaser tested a 
sample of the buy, the police swooped in and arrested him, along with Curtis.

The Alberta man is one of about 12 Canadians doing time in California 
City prison, which houses predominantly Mexican criminals, and since 
the crackdown on drug cartels, warring gangs have rioted, according 
to Curtis and another Canadian inmate who spoke to the Citizen.

The inmates say that in the past three months, the prison has been 
locked down a total of 47 days, meaning they spend about 23 hours a 
day inside their cells, where they are also fed.

The inmates say all 12 Canadians have written the Canadian government 
for relief without success.

"We have been in the middle of a Mexican drug cartel war which has 
spilled into the prison. We all fear for our safety and if or when 
one of us does get hurt, no one can say that we did not warn them," 
Curtis said.

Van Loan said he is not at liberty to comment on specific cases.

The minister, through a spokesman, told the Citizen:

"This government is committed to the safety and security of 
Canadians, and Canadians who commit crimes abroad should know that 
they run the risk of facing justice in the other country's criminal 
and correctional system. For privacy reasons, we cannot comment on 
specific cases. What I can tell you is each application for transfer 
back to Canada is carefully considered and decisions on transfer 
cases are made in accordance with the terms of the International 
Transfer of Offenders Act."

The California prison, run by Corrections Corp. of America, is 
located about two hours north of Los Angeles.
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