In the picturesque Adirondacks of New York State, many come to enjoy the benefits of nature – fresh air, lakes, mountains and a myriad of outdoor activities. In 1932 and again in 1980, this region hosted the Winter Olympics and welcomed visitors from around the world. After the 1980 games, the Athletes’ Village was converted into a federal correctional institution, FCI Ray Brook. Originally built to house 500 inmates, the facility now holds 1,227 (as of June 27, 2002).
On June 18, 2002, representatives from both Canada and the United States traveled to Ray Brook to observe the transfer of 12 Canadian citizens into Canadian custody. After the verification of consent hearing, the inmates were to be taken to the Regional Reception Centre (RRC) in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec. From there, the offenders were to be sent to correctional institutions across Canada to serve the remainder of their sentences.
International transfers are the result of agreements between sovereign nations. Their purpose is to allow the return of offenders from the country in which they were convicted to their home countries. These transfers are now an internationally accepted feature of modern corrections. With the consent of both countries and of the offender, they allow offenders to serve a sentence imposed by another country in the country of their citizenship.
A Hearing Before a Judge
Such transfers require detailed preparation on the part of many people to ensure their legality. Many of the Canadians and Americans who worked on the transfer that occurred on June18 attended the hearing at FCI Ray Brook. United States Magistrate Judge Larry Kudrle examined each case and spoke to each offender to ensure his consent to the transfer, as required by American law.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Paul J. Evangelista of the District of Northern New York and Vermont represented the offenders at the hearing.
“I go through the verification form with them and make sure they understand each of the factors,” he says. “My role is to make sure that the persons being transferred understand what rights they have, what rights they’re giving up and to make sure they have counsel at the hearing.”
The offenders arrived at FCI Ray Brook from state and federal institutions across the United States, some from as far away as California.
The offenders come to the hearing room in beige jump suits – standard issue for the inmates at FCI Ray Brook. One by one, each man is sworn in before Judge Kudrle who assesses their competency and ensures that they have had an opportunity to consult with the public defender. The judge explains to each offender the conditions for transfer. For example, their convictions can be modified or set aside through appropriate proceedings in the United States only and that the sentence will be carried out according to the laws of Canada. He also advises them that once he verifies their consent, it cannot be revoked.
“Is your consent wholly voluntary and not from threats, promises or improper inducements?” he asks each offender.
In turn, the 12 men agree to the transfer before Judge Kudrle, who finds in each case that the consent was voluntary and informed. Each offender is required to signify his consent in writing.
When the hearing ends, an escort team of correctional officers from the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is waiting to take physical custody of the 12 offenders and to return them to Canada. The escort team had driven down that morning from the Regional Reception Centre (RRC) with an escort vehicle, known as the keeper’s truck, and a specially equipped bus. The CSC escort team meets the offenders and prepares them for the four-hour journey home.
Inmates are strip-searched and their hands and feet shackled. They are then led
onto the CSC bus where two or three individuals are seated together behind a
secure barrier, essentially in a cell.
Joining the bus and the keeper’s truck are two vans that will carry the American and Canadian observers who prepared the transfers and attended the hearing. The CSC vehicles are unarmed as all firearms were left at the border crossing. While in the United States, the four Canadian vehicles are escorted by two vehicles from FCI Ray Brook, one in front and one behind. The American vehicles contain armed correctional officers.
Just before reaching the Canadian border, the officers pull their vehicles off to the side to bid farewell to their Canadian colleagues and to the visiting American officials. The remaining four vehicles continue on to the Canadian border crossing.
The bus, the keeper’s truck and the vans stop at the crossing. Emergency passports have been prepared by the Canadian Missions for the inmates specifically for this transfer and these are now presented to an immigration officer. The firearms held at the border when the CSC officers entered the United States are returned and the inmates are escorted off the bus to use the restroom.
When everyone is back inside the vehicles and all is judged to be in order, the convoy sets off for Montreal and the RRC in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines.
The convoy’s movement along a public highway is done with great care and concern for the public's safety, the escorting officers and the inmates being transferred. The four vehicles travel as a single unit. Should another vehicle cut into the line of the convoy, the keeper’s truck expertly moves that vehicle out of the convoy’s line and away from the bus.
This tight and efficient formation is maintained until the convoy reaches the RRC. Here, the inmates are processed into a CSC institution. In this transfer, five of the offenders will stay in the Quebec Region while the other seven undergo another transfer the next day, this time to institutions in the Ontario and Pacific regions.
The day was long for all involved. It took months of thorough preparation and close co-operation between different countries and legal systems. It called upon the diligent efforts of staff at all points in the process. Twelve Canadians were still incarcerated because of crimes they had committed in another land. But as the sun sets on this June day, they are back in their own country.
Caption: Leaving FCI Ray Brook, the 4 Canadian vehicles are escorted by 2 vehicles from FCI Ray Brook (White Trucks) one in front & one behind. The American vehicles contain armed Correctional Officers.