the game was played. Some reports would be favourable, others less so, especially given Rosten’s long history of denial. But Green was only interested in what two people had to say — Marilyn and Rosten himself.
Once the introductions and procedural formalities were over, the lead board member, who had introduced himself as Pierre Anjou, invited the institutional parole officer to summarize the case. Green leaned forward curiously. From previous cases, he remembered Gilles Maisonneuve as an experienced PO with a reputation as a hard-ass. If he had bought Rosten’s sudden conversion to remorse, perhaps the board would too.
After giving a brief sketch of Rosten’s criminal history, which was essentially unblemished until his current offence, Maisonneuve sped through Rosten’s twenty years of anger, protest, and endless legal wrangling before arriving at the past three months. Maisonneuve had personally worked on Rosten’s release plan and administered a number of standard risk- and needs-assessment measures. In drawing the board’s attention to the man’s moderate scores, he explained they would have been even better had Rosten co-operated more fully in recommended treatments and not lost all ties to friends and family on the outside.
However, Maisonneuve was quick to add, despite his reluctance to assume responsibility, Rosten had never presented a discipline problem, had no history of substance abuse, and had co-operated fully with CSC rules and routines. He had used his advanced education and skill as a teacher to help in the prison school program by mentoring and tutoring students toward high-school diplomas and even advanced science credits. This was a skill he intended to carry into his community placement.
“But what about insight and remorse?” the lead board member said.
Maisonneuve paused and leaned across the table, conversational now. “As I mentioned and his records show, although Mr. Rosten has been a model inmate, exhibiting no violent or disruptive behaviour, some attitudinal problems have hindered his progress in the past. He has had difficulty accepting responsibility for his crime and coming to grips with its implications for himself, the victim’s family, and the community at large. It has been a difficult admission for a man in his position, and one that until recently he has been reluctant to make. The professional opinion of CSC counsellors and psychologists is that the crime was so repulsive to him and so contrary to his values and self-image that he denied it happened. Perhaps he even blocked out all memory of it. We may never know. However, he has now come to accept that he committed this crime while under the stress of his new job at the university and the increased financial pressures of his family. His wife had recently given birth to twin girls and no one was getting much sleep.”
Ridiculous , Green thought, just as Anjou echoed his thoughts. “Everyone has pressures, Mr. Maisonneuve. Some of us even have children.”
“Agreed. It’s not an excuse. But his circumstances are very different now. He has no family obligations, financial or otherwise — in fact there’s been no contact with his family at all since his incarceration, and none is anticipated. He has no job pressures, other than the job he will be applying for if his parole is granted. He is no longer a young man, and his spinal cord injury has left him with considerably diminished sexual capacity. Certainly his capacity to physically assault and overpower a victim is greatly diminished, should he ever feel the urge.”
“So what are your recommendations, Mr. Maisonneuve?”
“At this stage of his life, James Rosten wants to use his skills to help others with literacy and schooling. Based on extensive discussions with Mr. Teske here, who is the director of the prison school at Warkworth, with other CSC personnel, and with CSC psychologist Dr. Kim Lee, whose report is before you, I consider him a minimal risk to
Once the introductions and procedural formalities were over, the lead board member, who had introduced himself as Pierre Anjou, invited the institutional parole officer to summarize the case. Green leaned forward curiously. From previous cases, he remembered Gilles Maisonneuve as an experienced PO with a reputation as a hard-ass. If he had bought Rosten’s sudden conversion to remorse, perhaps the board would too.
After giving a brief sketch of Rosten’s criminal history, which was essentially unblemished until his current offence, Maisonneuve sped through Rosten’s twenty years of anger, protest, and endless legal wrangling before arriving at the past three months. Maisonneuve had personally worked on Rosten’s release plan and administered a number of standard risk- and needs-assessment measures. In drawing the board’s attention to the man’s moderate scores, he explained they would have been even better had Rosten co-operated more fully in recommended treatments and not lost all ties to friends and family on the outside.
However, Maisonneuve was quick to add, despite his reluctance to assume responsibility, Rosten had never presented a discipline problem, had no history of substance abuse, and had co-operated fully with CSC rules and routines. He had used his advanced education and skill as a teacher to help in the prison school program by mentoring and tutoring students toward high-school diplomas and even advanced science credits. This was a skill he intended to carry into his community placement.
“But what about insight and remorse?” the lead board member said.
Maisonneuve paused and leaned across the table, conversational now. “As I mentioned and his records show, although Mr. Rosten has been a model inmate, exhibiting no violent or disruptive behaviour, some attitudinal problems have hindered his progress in the past. He has had difficulty accepting responsibility for his crime and coming to grips with its implications for himself, the victim’s family, and the community at large. It has been a difficult admission for a man in his position, and one that until recently he has been reluctant to make. The professional opinion of CSC counsellors and psychologists is that the crime was so repulsive to him and so contrary to his values and self-image that he denied it happened. Perhaps he even blocked out all memory of it. We may never know. However, he has now come to accept that he committed this crime while under the stress of his new job at the university and the increased financial pressures of his family. His wife had recently given birth to twin girls and no one was getting much sleep.”
Ridiculous , Green thought, just as Anjou echoed his thoughts. “Everyone has pressures, Mr. Maisonneuve. Some of us even have children.”
“Agreed. It’s not an excuse. But his circumstances are very different now. He has no family obligations, financial or otherwise — in fact there’s been no contact with his family at all since his incarceration, and none is anticipated. He has no job pressures, other than the job he will be applying for if his parole is granted. He is no longer a young man, and his spinal cord injury has left him with considerably diminished sexual capacity. Certainly his capacity to physically assault and overpower a victim is greatly diminished, should he ever feel the urge.”
“So what are your recommendations, Mr. Maisonneuve?”
“At this stage of his life, James Rosten wants to use his skills to help others with literacy and schooling. Based on extensive discussions with Mr. Teske here, who is the director of the prison school at Warkworth, with other CSC personnel, and with CSC psychologist Dr. Kim Lee, whose report is before you, I consider him a minimal risk to
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