'HOUSE ARREST IS NOT A PICNIC'

Mother Of Three Struggles With Conditions, Stigma

Editors Note: In today's first installment of a five-part series on house
arrest, a young mother paints a bleak picture of her detention. Wednesday,
victims and a judge have their say.

House arrest is no get-out-of-jail-free card, says a single Halifax mother
of three young children serving a 22-month conditional sentence for
trafficking in drugs.

"It's been hellish," said Angie, who asked that her real name not be used.

She's restricted to her home 24 hours a day with few exceptions. She is
allowed to go to work, to the doctor or to see her lawyer. She is also able
to leave the house for two hours each Wednesday, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., to
do shopping or other family business.

"In each case I have to let my probation officer know where I am and at
what time," she said.

Angie paints a bleak picture of the routine she's been forced to adhere to
since being sentenced in June 2001.

Overcrowded jails forced change

"If I run out of milk, I can't just go to the store," she said. "If the
kids need something for a lunch or a school trip, I can't go get it.

"House arrest is not a picnic," the woman said. "It's hard when you are
trying to bring up kids and you can't do things or go places with them."

She's even pretended to be sick to hide the real reason she couldn't go on
a class trip with one of her children.

"I'm deceiving my kids in a sense because I can't do this and I can't do
that. They are getting used to the fact now that Wednesday night is our
only night out."

The first-time offender said it's been especially hard not being able to
take her children Christmas or back-to-school shopping.

"How do you Christmas shop in two hours for kids?" she asked.

The woman said she must go directly to and from work and can only do her
banking during a break. "There's no stopping off for a Tim Hortons coffee.

"I could say the hell with work and go on social assistance," she said of
trying to support her children under very restrictive circumstances.

Except for a few designated family members to help care for her children,
she's only allowed visitors for two hours each day from 4 to 6 p.m.

"I usually keep my curtains closed and my door shut," she said.

Aside from a few family members, no one is aware of Angie's involvement
with the law.

"My children are too young to understand.

"I'm trying to keep this a personal problem," she said.

"It's my mistake and it's a stigma that will stay with me and my family who
knows. But it's not a stigma I want to put on my kids."

That's an issue Angie has some say in. Other matters are beyond her control.

Probation supervisors can show up at any time to make sure she's abiding by
the conditions of her sentence.

"They appear out of nowhere," she said. "They visit me any time of the day
and call me any time of the night.

"I have to answer my door and I have to answer my telephone," she added.

The woman has 19 conditions in a sentence order controlling her mobility in
just about every aspect, says her lawyer, Roger Burrill.

"The conditions essentially put you in jail in your own house."

Mr. Burrill said his client is not allowed to have or even handle a
cellphone. "If she does, she's violating her house arrest conditions."

Any infraction could send her to jail, he said.

"Sometimes I think I should have gone to jail and get this over with," she
said. "But who was going to take care of my kids?"

Angie said she's sticking to all of her conditions.

"There were times when I thought this is the end of the world. But then you
think of the kids. They are the ones who are getting me through this," she
said.

"I wouldn't want to go through this again."

Mr. Burrill said had his client done her time in jail she would be on
parole now and enjoying a great deal more liberty to come and go with her
kids as long as she complied with the terms of her parole.

The restrictions on her house arrest will be relaxed for the last four
months of her sentence, beginning this month.

"I'll still be under house arrest, but will be allowed out of my home each
day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.," she said.

Mr. Burrill said those serving time in a federal prison for the same type
of crime Angie committed would be sentenced to two or 2 1/2 years. They
would be out on parole in less than a year if they behaved and had no
previous criminal record.

Those sentenced to house arrest must serve the full term.

Mr. Burrill said Angie's cohorts were sentenced to jail because they were
viewed as more of a risk to the community.

He said these people have been out for a number of months now with far
fewer restrictions, even though they were sentenced after his client.

Mr. Burrill said had his client gone to jail, taxpayers would have had to
pay for her incarceration and pick up the cost of caring for her children.
"Not to mention the long-term expense to the community of having a mother
separated from her children for a lengthy period of time."

He said his client's case is common.

"She is simply a person who made a mistake in her life. We can all relate
to that.

"Don't get me wrong, it was a big mistake," Mr. Burrill said. "My client is
the first person who would admit to that and she is paying for it."

Mr. Burrill said taking the discretionary tool (conditional sentences) away
from a judge would be very dangerous because it would result in more human
misery, more expense to the taxpayer, and more people going to jail who
shouldn't be there.

"Have a look at the American experience before you jump off that bridge,"
he said.