Guy Turcotte, the former cardiologist convicted of murdering his two young children, will appear before the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) later this month to request escorted absences from prison. However, the parole board’s decision will remain a secret. According to an information sheet sent to the media on Tuesday, Turcotte will have a hearing on Sept. 22 to evaluate his request for an Escorted temporary absence (ETA). Correctional Service Canada (CSC) describes ETAs as limited, temporary absences from prison under the supervision of a CSC member or authorized volunteer for a variety of reasons, including medical, family contact, personal development, among others. ETAs can be no longer than 15 days, and before they are granted, the PBC must be satisfied that the offender will not pose a risk to the community and will fulfill specific conditions. After reviewing the request, the parole board can either authorize or deny it, postpone it, or take no action. The PBC normally records all of its decisions, and the reasons for them in a register to promote transparency and to help the public understand the decision-making process. However, the Turcotte decision will not be made public. In some cases, decisions can remain confidential if releasing it would jeopardize the safety of a person, reveal sources of confidential information, or adversely affect the reintegration of the offender into society. “Therefore, this decision is not among those accessible through a request for access to the Register of Decisions,” the information sheet stated. The Turcotte case in February 2009 shocked the province. At the end of his second trial, Turcotte was sentenced in 2015 to life imprisonment without the chance of parole for 17 years for killing his three-year-old daughter, Anne-Sophie, and his five-year-old son, Olivier. He stabbed them to death following the separation from his wife. At his first trial, the jury found him not criminally responsible due to mental disorder. His case was then brought before the Quebec Court of Appeal, which ordered a new trial that ended with two guilty verdicts. With files from Noovo Info
