News (Media Awareness Project) - CN BC: Kelowna Man Wants Drug-Free Jail |
| Title: | CN BC: Kelowna Man Wants Drug-Free Jail |
| Published On: | 2002-11-29 |
| Source: | Kelowna Capital News (CN BC) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-21 18:35:02 |
KELOWNA MAN WANTS DRUG-FREE JAIL
A Kelowna man convicted of a robbery to get money for drugs has been
returned to a federal prison--the place where he got hooked in the first place.
Duane Grams, 33, contested charges that he robbed the Shell service station
on Harvey Avenue twice in two days, Sept. 23 and 25, 2001.
It took six days of court time to try him and just a few hours for an
11-member jury to convict him.
Justice Robert Metzger sentenced him to 28 months in a federal prison on
top of time he was already serving.
Grams' lawyer, Joe Gordon, described how his client succumbed to cocaine in
1995, paralleling his criminal record.
Between 1996 and 1998, he was convicted of numerous offences including
several counts of theft, assault and finally robbery.
In 1998 he was sentenced to five years for robbery and finally quit taking
cocaine.
When he was passed up for early parole, Gordon said, Grams became depressed
and turned to heroin for the first time, getting access to it while in
Matsqui prison.
He worked to beat it through methadone treatment but once he was released
to a halfway house last September, he relapsed.
Within a week, he went through a student loan, stole a car, a credit card
and held up the Shell station twice, once with a knife, the jury found.
When he was sentenced, Justice Metzger requested that Corrections Canada
place Grams in a drug-free cell.
The only prison in B.C. to offer such a service is at Mission Institution.
In April 2000, the federal government announced new measures to get drugs
out of prisons including using drug dogs and ion scanners.
It also designated five institutions to include drug-free units.
Offenders who volunteer to live in these units sign a contract agreeing to
abstain from drugs and are transferred if they test positive for, or are
found in possession of drugs or alcohol.
Research has shown that over 70 per cent of offenders have substance abuse
problems at the time of their admission.
Offenders who are addicted to drugs and alcohol are also more likely to be
under their influence when they commit their crime.
A Kelowna man convicted of a robbery to get money for drugs has been
returned to a federal prison--the place where he got hooked in the first place.
Duane Grams, 33, contested charges that he robbed the Shell service station
on Harvey Avenue twice in two days, Sept. 23 and 25, 2001.
It took six days of court time to try him and just a few hours for an
11-member jury to convict him.
Justice Robert Metzger sentenced him to 28 months in a federal prison on
top of time he was already serving.
Grams' lawyer, Joe Gordon, described how his client succumbed to cocaine in
1995, paralleling his criminal record.
Between 1996 and 1998, he was convicted of numerous offences including
several counts of theft, assault and finally robbery.
In 1998 he was sentenced to five years for robbery and finally quit taking
cocaine.
When he was passed up for early parole, Gordon said, Grams became depressed
and turned to heroin for the first time, getting access to it while in
Matsqui prison.
He worked to beat it through methadone treatment but once he was released
to a halfway house last September, he relapsed.
Within a week, he went through a student loan, stole a car, a credit card
and held up the Shell station twice, once with a knife, the jury found.
When he was sentenced, Justice Metzger requested that Corrections Canada
place Grams in a drug-free cell.
The only prison in B.C. to offer such a service is at Mission Institution.
In April 2000, the federal government announced new measures to get drugs
out of prisons including using drug dogs and ion scanners.
It also designated five institutions to include drug-free units.
Offenders who volunteer to live in these units sign a contract agreeing to
abstain from drugs and are transferred if they test positive for, or are
found in possession of drugs or alcohol.
Research has shown that over 70 per cent of offenders have substance abuse
problems at the time of their admission.
Offenders who are addicted to drugs and alcohol are also more likely to be
under their influence when they commit their crime.
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