Doing Justice

As Canadians have been debating what a fair and just punishment should look like for the driver in the Humboldt Broncos crash, one perspective has been absent: the guilty. This week, Piya speaks with those inside and outside prison to hear how they think their punishment has served them, for better and for worse.

Here are the stories from this week's episode...

'How do you justify how long a punishment is?': Woman who drove through stop sign, killing two and injuring one, reflects on her penalty

On her drive to work on December 13, 2017, Alberta EMT Chelsey Kinsella ran a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle. Two men died and one survived. She was not criminally charged, instead receiving a three-month driving suspension and $2,000 fine. As Chelsea tells Piya, she doesn't think the punishment was severe enough, but at the same time believes prison wouldn't be effective given the unintentional nature of what she did.

Edmonton man serving life sentence for murder says Indigenous healing lodge helped rehabilitate him

Chris Houle is serving a life sentence in Edmonton for second-degree murder. He spent nearly a decade in traditional prisons before being relocated to an Indigenous healing lodge. Chris explains the steps he took to get there, how he thinks the setting is enabling his rehabilitation, and addresses criticisms of healing lodges that surfaced last year, after Terri-Lynne McClintic was found to be serving her time in one.

'You go crazy in there': The lasting psychological effects of being in solitary confinement

Alia Pierini was incarcerated for drug trafficking, extortion and aggravated assault. She spent most of her 44 months in prison in segregation, which she says was the darkest time in her life. Alia speaks with Piya about the lasting psychological effects a decade after getting out, and why she thinks we need to reform this type of punishment.

Two ex-convicts are on a mission to build a memorial for people who died in Ontario's Prison for Women

Ann Hansen and Fran Chaisson have been friends for about 40 years. They met while serving time in Kingston, Ontario's Prison for Women, which was shut down by the year 2000 after a government inquiry found offenders had suffered "cruel, inhumane, and degrading" treatment. They speak with Piya about their effort to establish a memorial at the site to ensure the women they knew and grew close to on the inside are not forgotten.