B.C. Court of Appeal judge denies Phillip Tallio's bail application
Credit to Author: Ian Mulgrew| Date: Fri, 09 Aug 2019 16:14:48 +0000
A B.C. Court of Appeal Judge has denied bail to Phillip Tallio while he appeals his decades old murder conviction.
Tallio, who has been in prison for more than 36 years for the murder of 22-month-old Delavina Mack near Bella Coola, has maintained that he is innocent. If Tallio‘s appeal were to be successful, it would make Canadian legal history as the longest prison sentence served by someone found to be wrongly convicted.
For the past eight years, lawyers affiliated with the UBC Innocence Project have been working on Tallio’s case. His appeal will be heard in the spring.
The decision by Justice Elizabeth Bennett comes after three days of hearings. In delivering her decision Friday, Bennett said there is not enough supervision or structured support for Tallio in the community.
Lawyers presented final submissions Thursday.
Tom Arbogast, Tallio’s lawyer, argued that there is a plan in place for Tallio to transition out of minimum security prison, where he has already been thriving in a “community-type environment” and self-directing his day-to-day activities.
“He’s ready at this stage to move to the next step,” Arbogast said. “The plan and the structure that exists for him is reasonable and is workable and is fair given the circumstances.”
But Mary Ainsley, a lawyer for the Crown, argued that Tallio’s release plan was inadequate and that his bail application should be adjourned or dismissed. Tallio should have pursued parole rather than seek bail, she said.
Earlier in the day, the court heard from Robin Hissink, an institutional parole officer who has supervised Tallio in prison for the last 18 months, monitoring his daily routine, behaviour and disposition.
Hissink said Tallio had adapted well to his minimum security surroundings. He didn’t present behavioural or security concerns, and had successfully completed many escorted temporary absences. Tallio goes to bed at the same time every night, gets up between 6:30 and 7 every morning, and goes to work every day, she said. When he’s home at night he makes dinner in his living unit.
Hissink said she believed the hypothetical bail conditions that had been discussed by counsel resembled those of day parole, and with the right support, she thought Tallio would do well outside prison.
Staff at the supportive home described the setting Tallio would be released into. The home that would take him has one other resident now, but could house up to six people. There is a staff member at the home every day and they are on-call during evenings. Staff perform urine tests and room searches and are involved with “all aspects” of the lives of residents. Residents on parole are visited at the home by police and sometimes staff members during random checks.
Sarah Rauch, a lawyer for the mother of Mack, said family members of the victim are fearful, not only that they might have contact with Tallio if he is granted bail, but also that Tallio could be in the presence of children, including his own grandchildren.
mrobinson@postmedia.com