Mike on Crime Read Online Free Page A

house.”
    Kami Pozniak just couldn’t stay out of trouble. Court records show Pozniak had been convicted of 11 separate offences—including drugs, prostitution and failing to comply with court orders—since 2003 alone. Pozniak had been in and out of custody for much of that time, often getting released on bail only to be re-arrested on breach allegations or new substantive criminal charges.
    During her sentencing for manslaughter, it was suggested Pozniak had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and made poor choices about her peers and lifestyle. Hope was expressed that some time behind bars would give her the chance to escape the past and move forward to a brighter future. Yet the sentencing judge heard Pozniak had not been making very good use of the time. Instead of focusing on treatment and programming, she was getting into violent disputes with other inmates and guards that landed her in segregation. She eventually got out—but like her co-accused Johnson and Torres, the revolving door of justice kept on swinging. In 2000, Pozniak appeared before a parliamentary standing committee in Ottawa that was exploring possible changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act. One of the big issues then was whether youth criminals who were raised to adult court should be named in public, as Pozniak was.
    â€œEvery day when I go out, lots of people recognize my name when I get introduced to people. I have a hard time getting a job. When I attended school, the teachers knew who I was, and my law teacher knew who I was,” Pozniak told federal lawmakers, including Peter MacKay. “I find it very difficult to be known just as [a convicted criminal] instead of being known as me, being known as something I was labelled for in the past. It still reflects in my face every day I live out in the community.”
    Kim Pate, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society, described Pozniak at the time as a “young aboriginal woman who is struggling to complete school... is basically struggling to get back on her feet after that.” She told the committee that Pozniak had attempted suicide on multiple occasions and frequently found herself in segregation. “She unfortunately has had some of the worst experiences of our system and some of the worst experiences of the current system.”
    Pozniak also told government officials she hoped to one day meet with Beeper’s family: “I’ve always wanted to meet with them. At my sentencing I apologized to the family for my responsibility in taking part in it. But the family isn’t ready for me, I guess, so I’m just waiting until that perspective comes.”
    K ami Pozniak died in February 2011 at the age of 32. She was survived by two children. An official cause of death was never released publicly but those close to her told me it was linked to the various vices she’d spent her life fighting. She never did get that meeting with Beeper’s family that she had talked of wanting.
    Fabian Torres has seemingly stayed out of trouble. Perhaps he finally got the fresh start in life his family predicted he would upon his release.
    Conrad Johnson has continued to go through the revolving door of justice. After his second shot at freedom in 2008, he fled from a halfway house in Winnipeg in July 2009 and spent 15 months on the run. Officers caught up with Johnson in October 2010, finding him in a city hotel room with several high-ranking gang members and a large quantity of marijuana. Johnson was not charged for the drugs but did get slapped with being unlawfully at large.
    He claimed he ran away because he wanted to see his newborn baby and knew he’d be in trouble for smoking pot. His day parole was cancelled. He spent a couple of years in remand custody before being returned to federal custody in December 2012. He enrolled in several substance-abuse programs, demonstrated model behaviour and was given a third shot in October 2013