Attacker’s release highlights need for integration

A man convicted of attacking a Good Samaritan with a drywall hammer outside a Winnipeg beer vendor, embedding the tool in his skull, is free on statutory release after serving time in custody.

Jonathan Malachai Flett, who is considered a high risk to reoffend, has been allowed back into society without any community supports.

Legal expert Brandon Trask said the case underscores the need to bolster efforts to reintegrate offenders into the population once they’re released.

Flett, 23, was convicted of aggravated assault in March 2023. Court heard he smashed the hammer into Zachary Fitzsimmons’ head multiple times as he tried to stop Flett and others from bullying a boy outside the Maryland Hotel, at 690 Notre Dame Ave., in 2020.

Flett’s seven-year sentence amounted to just more than three years in federal custody, accounting for enhanced time he served while on remand.

The Parole Board of Canada warned that he has a history of violating court orders as it imposed numerous conditions on his release.

“It is apparent you have made some positive gains through programming, and your institutional behaviour has improved more recently; however, you lack community supports, have few positive life skills and no employment history,” the board wrote to Flett in its April 7 decision.

“You demonstrate a high risk for violent recidivism as you have historically demonstrated a persistent pattern of violent behaviour.”

Federal inmates typically become eligible for supervised release after serving two-thirds of their sentence, which allows them to serve the remaining time in the community.

The process is designed to help reintegrate them into society. During that period, they must report to a parole officer on a regular basis and comply with conditions.

In Flett’s case, he must abstain from drugs and alcohol, follow a treatment plan for substance abuse and emotional management, not associate with criminal elements, report all sexual and non-sexual relationships with women and have no contact with his victim.

He has been ordered to live at a designated community-based residential facility approved by Correctional Service Canada, and he must report there each night.

The documents are partially redacted and do not indicate whether Flett will live in Manitoba.

“Given our system, this is about as much control as can be placed over an individual who has, essentially, served their time,” said Trask, an assistant law professor at the University of Manitoba, and a former Crown attorney.

“We, as a society, need to be prepared for when individuals are reaching the end of their time… and we need to recognize our law doesn’t allow us to just lock somebody up and throw away the key for even some really heinous offences, short of murder.”

An effective justice system must balance punishment and reintegration, or risk contributing to recidivism, Trask warned.

He noted crime, safety and incarceration initiatives have become key talking points during the federal election campaign, but discussions about post-custody supports are largely absent.

“I think this does speak to the need to provide more rehabilitation programming, training opportunities for individuals in custody and also out of custody,” Trask said.

“Generally speaking, if we set up a situation where we throw out an individual back on the street with… no real pathway to success, what do we think is going to happen?”

The parole board decision said Flett had participated in various addiction, rehabilitation and basic vocational programs while in custody and even held a job.

A psychological examination conducted in 2023 found him at a 76 per cent chance of reoffending violently within seven years, and an 82 per chance within one decade, the documents say.

The board decision notes Flett has a “persistent” criminal record that prompted his home First Nation to ban him from the community when he was a teen.

He has a history of disobeying court-imposed conditions, failing to report to probation and continuing to engage in criminal activity, the board said.

Flett’s offences were related to a gang, with which he is no longer affiliated. The documents said he was “beat out” by the group around 2021 after they learned he had been charged with sexual offences, but the charges were stayed.

If Flett complies with his release conditions, he will remain under supervision in the community until his sentence is complete, the parole board said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca