JAIL A 'RISK' FOR HANDLESS MAN

A Victoria drug courier with no hands will not be able to protect
himself if he's sent to prison, where people are picked on for being
different, his defence lawyer argued yesterday on the second day of
his sentencing hearing in B.C. Supreme Court.

"Terry Bazzani, if incarcerated, would be subject to the risk of
harm," said Jordan Watt. "He would be subjected to conditions which
border on cruel and unusual punishment."

Bazzani, 39, was arrested at Toronto's Lester B. Pearson airport in
June 2006 after ingesting $204,000 worth of heroin and smuggling it
into Canada from Colombia. He pleaded guilty Sept. 2 to importing heroin.

Because of Bazzani's physical limitations, Watt has asked Justice
Keith Bracken to impose a conditional sentence followed by two to
three years' probation with strict conditions. Federal prosecutor Dirk
Ryneveld is seeking a three-to four-year sentence in a federal
institution.

Bracken will deliver his decision Oct. 26.

Yesterday, Watt reminded the court about the trauma Bazzani endured
after his arrest during his five-week incarceration at a
maximum-security prison in Ontario.

"He was in lockup 231/2 hours a day. He was unable to brush his teeth.
He was unable to comb his hair. That would happen again if Terry
Bazzani was sent to an institution."

On Thursday, Crown witness Diane Thiessen, manager of clinical
services for Correctional Service of Canada, Pacific region, testified
that B.C.'s nine federal institutions accommodate people with all
kinds of disabilities, including amputees, paraplegics and
quadriplegics.

However, Bazzani's personal physician, Dr. James Henry, testified
Bazzani would be in danger in an institution. Henry, who also cares
for inmates at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre twice
a week, testified that he often looks after offenders who have been
involved in violent incidents.

It makes little difference if Bazzani is sent to a provincial or a
federal institution, said Watt. "Jail is jail. Violence doesn't
disappear when someone enters a federal institution."

A conditional sentence is appropriate because Bazzani had no previous
criminal record and complied with his strict bail conditions for the
past 31/2 years, said Watt, adding his client has admitted
responsibility and is remorseful.

"He's trying to better his life. He's trying to become a personal
trainer. That's an incredible feat. This is an individual who has no
hands, half a foot and who has endured multiple surgeries on his face."

Importing heroin into Canada is a serious offence, but Bazzani was a
pawn, said Watt. "He was not an importer in the true sense of the
word. He did move heroin from Colombia to Toronto but he knew nothing
about the organizational structure and was left completely in the dark
with respect to the criminal organization."

Ryneveld cited other cases showing criminal organizations pick weak
and vulnerable individuals to be drug couriers. They look for
students, the elderly and people with disabilities. Bazzani was
susceptible to the lure of a quick buck, said Ryneveld. "The court
ought not to send the message that people of this ilk can commit
serious offences with impunity."

Bazzani, whose birth defects resulted from his mother taking illicit
drugs, showed no regard for others when he brought 510 grams of heroin
into Canada, said Ryneveld.

"And he himself should know of the dangers of drugs, not only to users
and addicts, but to unborn children."