Fire-setting Windsor dangerous offender to be hospitalized, not jailed

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Stepping into legal waters where Canadian judges don’t normally tread, a Windsor judge has ordered that a serial arsonist serve time in a provincial psychiatric hospital rather than a federal prison.

After designating Patrick Warren as a dangerous offender in a partial ruling last month, describing him as a continued threat to the community, Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance on Friday also handed the Windsor man an “indeterminate” sentence, one of the harshest penalties in the Canadian justice system.

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But with that sentence, Pomerance argued that it would be unconstitutional to not also provide Warren, 44, with a potential pathway to eventual release from custody, however slim the odds. In her 77-page written ruling read out as Warren listened in from jail via Zoom, the judge said she had “no confidence” he would receive “meaningful treatment” while at a federal penal institution.

“This was a challenging case,” Pomerance said, adding her sentencing ruling was “somewhat unprecedented.”

Ordering that Warren be transferred to a provincial hospital setting rather than a federal prison “does not sacrifice public safety,” the judge emphasized, nor does it guarantee Warren’s eventual release: “Mr. Warren may well spend the rest of his life in custody.”

Warren has been convicted of arson six times and has already spent most of his adult life behind bars. His most recent conviction was for setting a fire at the former Pour House pub in downtown Windsor on Feb. 12, 2017.

The court heard there has been any number of reasons for why Warren torches properties, including once telling police he did it to be returned to prison. It was never his intention to harm anyone, but the judge said arson poses a significant risk to others.

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“For much of his life, fire has been his only friend,” said Pomerance. Self-harm and criminal behaviour — his record includes 32 prior convictions — have marked his life.

Warren suffers from complex mental issues, is illiterate, has “an extremely low range of intellectual functioning” with an IQ of only 55, and has no known family or social connections.

The judge described a “profoundly tragic childhood,” including prolonged sexual and physical abuse from a young age. Both his parents, since deceased, were criminally charged for their son’s treatment.

A psychiatric report prepared during the years of court proceedings leading up to this week’s decision described Warren as being a “high risk to reoffend … (with) high potential to harm others in the community.”

Representatives for the Correctional Service of Canada and the federal attorney general argued there were programs and services within the federal penal system to help rehabilitate and reform Warren.

But Pomerance said his eight years already in federal institutions — including “intolerable periods of time” in isolation — have shown otherwise.

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“He has been managed rather than treated,” she said. Not getting proper treatment means the Parole Board of Canada would never consider releasing Warren, she added, and that constitutes a violation of his Charter rights.

The dominant Correctional Service of Canada concern is security, and the Parole Board’s role is protecting society. Pomerance said Warren — “very much alone in the world” — has highly specialized and complex needs.

Pomerance ordered Warren’s transfer to a provincial psychiatric hospital, and she instructed provincial and federal Crown attorneys to report back on how her judicial supervision order will be implemented.

dschmidt@postmedia.com

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