10:16am Apr 19th
Diane Levesque - Sacha's Mom

I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for keeping up the good work towards giving all that you do to get Sacha back to Canada. He has spent over 4 years incarcerated in a Florida Medium Security Prison. Sacha needs to come back home where he can have the support of family and friends, the therapy and proper medication for his mental disorder "Bipolar"

Don't you think that if Sacha was such a threat to the Security of Canada and it's Citizens that he would also be considered a threat to the Security of the U.S.A, its Citizens and would be kept in a Maximum Security Prison instead of the Medium Security/ Dade C.KI. in Florida City until last week when he was moved to Tallahassee's/ Jefferson's Prison yet another Medium Security Institution?

How about the Recommendations from Correctional Service Canada and the Canadian Justice Dept. who wrote in black and white that Sacha is "NOT A Threat to our Country" and recommended that Sacha be transferred back.

There has been hundreds of letter that have already been written directly to Stockwell Day and to Prime Minister Harper concerning their outrage of his Decision to Deny Sacha's return to Canada and treating him as if he was a Terrorist / Serial Killer which he is not. " NO ONE WAS HURT IN HIS OFFENCE"

How can we as Canadians accept this travesty of Justice. One minister who knows noting about Mental Illness have so much power and overturning the Recommendations of Correctional Service Canada and the Justice Dept Canada;
Friday, April 18, 2008 - 01:00 PM

To Write Sacha:
Sacha Michel Bond DC#K06444
Jefferson C.I.
1050 Big Joe Road
Monticello, Florida 32344-0430

NDP Disability Critic's appeal to Stockwell Day on behalf of Canadians and Sacha Bond.

Attached.

http://www.fpsmagazine.com/blog/2007/05/dear-sacha.php

Dear Sacha is a short film Montreal based animator Eric Bond made for a brother who's serving 20 years in a Florida jail. Sacha Bond is twenty-two years old and has bipolar disorder. In 2004, while intoxicated, he pulled out a gun in a Florida bar. Luckily no one got hurt. Sacha has been in jail since then, without the medication and help that he requires and with no chance for parole. His family is working hard to convince the Canadian government to transfer him to a federal institution in Quebec, his homeland.

The short illustrates the dreary, monotnous and depressing existence of a prisoner. The camera angles and puppet animation put us in direct connection with a lonely human; almost as if it's a real person sitting by himself across the room, being miserable. The filmmaker attempts to understand his brother, console him and imagine what he must be thinking and feeling.

A special on Sacha broadcast two weeks ago (May 17, 2007) on CTV News explains his case and can be viewed here.

The site also features Eric Bond's short and a petition that demands the Canadian government to transfer Sacha to a federal institution here.

Labels: shorts, stop-motion

DADE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION (C.I)
Florida City, Fl. U.S.A.

- Sending money in Sacha’s JPAY account every 2nd week:
(This money is sent to Sacha to buy extras,shaving cream,deodorant, shampoo,multi- vitamins and minerals,juice,snacks etc.) as the only items which are provided by the C.I. are:
1 toothbrush
1 toothpaste
1 comb
1 bar of soap
1 plastic rasor

US $100.00
$7.95 transfer fee
sending Sacha $100.00 costs appr. $138.00

- VISITATION:
Once a year for a duration of 3 weeks;
visitation is only on Weekends and 1 or 2 *special visitation* per week on request:
*special visitation* is 2 hours per visit

3weeks in Florida City = 11 visits max

- Expenses:
Hotel: $1400.00
Flight:$700.00
Car Rental:$475.00
Gaz: $120.00
Groceries - No restaurant: $250.00

Expenses while in C.I.
Food and drinks
per day $25.00 per visit

- Telephone Call expenses:

until July 2007
$23.92 for 15 minute call

From August 2007
$42.90 for a 15minute Call

Average phone bill
$300.00 or more
August Phone Bill” in the amount of
* $316.16 *

ARCHAMBAULT INSTITUTION
Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Québec,Can.
- Sending money in Sacha’s JPAY account every 2nd week:

$100.00 Can
$7.95 transfer fee
sending Sacha $100.00 costs appr. $107.95

- VISITATION:
Twice a month

- Expenses:
Gaz : $25.00

expenses while in C.I.
* to come
- Telephone Call expenses:
*to come

“According to Section 3 of the International Transfer of Offenders Act , “the purpose of this Act is to contribute to the administration of justice and the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community by enabling them to serve their sentences in the country of which they are citizens or nationals”.
“The transfer of Mr. Bond will facilitate and enhance his eventual reintegration into the community through appropriate programming, including gradual and supervised relrelease under the jurisdiction of the Correctional Service of Canada. Should a transfer not be grated, Mr will be deported to Canada and will not be under the jurisdiction of the Correctional Service of Canada and will not be subject to any supervision requirements or restrictions. The United States has not yet determined Mr. Bond’s deportation date.”

Injustice and not wanting to see how good a person can be

1 White, hazel eyed,
19 year old CANADIAN,
who suffers from BIPOLAR
10 days out of CANADA
1 BIG mistake
BANNED from his own country
treated like TERRORIST
left to fend for himself
in a USA Jail
NO family
NO friends
BANNED for 20 years
because of a GOVERNMENT that refuses to see that he is a good kid
with a promising FUTURE
yes a great future waiting for him
a GREAT future he will never see
he will never see how great
but only see how BLEAK life can be
by having to live in a PRISON in a foreign country
with KILLERS,
and MURDERERS,
and CHILD MOLESTERS.
He is not a criminal
what he needs is HELP
not 20 years behind BARS
stripped of his RIGHTS and without dignity
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Has taken it upon himself to deem my son as:
“A THREAT to the security of Canada and it’s citizens”
What is wrong with this Government
What is wrong with the people
What is WRONG?
when someone can’t get a second chance
to make things right
to make people see
that it was a MISTAKE
a big mistake indeed
but it was his first and only crime
he had no-one behind him
He left a family; a mother, a father
and a brother who are SUFFERING
right along with him
what is wrong in this world
when people who say
they follow the word of GOD
then speak and act like the DEVIL
The devil himself, who judges and tries
our CHILDREN
How dare you Mister Day
how dare you play
this game with my son’s mind
how dare you play
with my son’s LIFE
and decide his FATE
for the next 7300 days
How dare you Mister Day
PUNISH my son
for so long
when you could have him transferred TOMORROW
To be close to his family his mother and brother
who love him so DEARLY
and MISS HIM SO MUCH
Written by Diane Lévesque
Saturday October 13, 2007 4.00PM

Written by DianeLévesque
Saturday October 13, 2007 4.00PM

I want to say Thank You to everyone who is helping to get my son back safely
★ - Arif and Donna Jinha
★ - Dieter and Colville Doneit-Henderson
★ - Marcel Proulx M.P (Hull/Aylmer/Gatineau)
★ - The Liberal Parti
★ - The NDP
★ - The Bloc
★ - The facebook population
★ - everyone on the list of the Petition
★ - The humanitarians for Social Justice
- Social Workers Class of the Alonguin College Smith Falls Campus.

This is part of the table of contents of the 2003 Human Rights Watch Report entitled Ill-Equipped:
U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness

The table of contents is revealing in and of itself. Find the full report at http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/usa1003/

excerpt from TABLE OF CONTENTS

====
INADEQUATE MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT IN PRISONS
Understaffing
Poor Screening and Tracking of Mentally Ill Prisoners
Lack of Timely Access to Mental Health Staff
Diagnoses of Malingering
Medication as the Sole Treatment
Lack of Confidentiality
Medication
Proper Medication
Delivery
Medication Discontinuity
Inadequate Monitoring of Medication Side Effects
Protecting Prisoners on Medication from Heat Reactions
Inadequate Efforts to Ensure Medication Compliance

INSUFFICIENT PROVISION OF SPECIALIZED FACILITIES FOR SERIOUSLY ILL PRISONERS
Crisis Care
Specialized Intermediate Care Units
Expansion of Specialized Care Facilities

CASE STUDY: ALABAMA, A SYSTEM IN CRISIS

V.K., New York

MENTALLY ILL PRISONERS AND SEGREGATION
Overview of Segregation
Mentally Ill in Segregation
Impact of Segregation on the Mentally Ill
Lost in Segregation
The Lack of Quality Mental Health Services for Segregated Prisoners.
From Segregation Units to Psychiatric Centers and Back
Keeping the Mentally Ill Out of Segregation

R.P., New York

L.J., New York

SUICIDE AND SELF-MUTILATION
Self-Mutilation
Suicide
Increased Risk of Self-harm and Suicide in Segregation Units
Suicide Protocols
Punitive Responses to Suicide Attempts

Felix Jorge, New York

FAILURE TO PROVIDE DISCHARGE SERVICES

Recidivism
Discharge Planning
Financial Assistance
States that Confer Eligibility on the Date of Release
States that Help Prisoners Fill Out Applications
States that Provide Minimal Help
Ex-offender Programs

LEGAL STANDARDS

International Protections
The Rights of Prisoners to be Free of Abuse
The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health
The United States and International Human Rights Law
Constitutional Protections for Prisoners with Mental Illness
The Right to Mental Health Treatment
Constitutionally Required Components of Mental Health Services
Americans With Disabilities Act
Prison Litigation Reform Act

Eric, Sacha and Diane.

Diane and the Students at Algonquin College Perth, SSW Program. Diane gave a heartfelt and well received talk about this issue.

Facebook is a social networking tool.

Please join the group Bring Sacha Bond Back Home to Canada.

Minister of Justice, July 17, 2007

House of Commons

Dear Sir: re the request for transfer of Sacha Bond to Canada

One of the principles of the Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice is to affirm and promote justice , equity , and compassion in human affairs. Consequently we are very concerned with the treatment of Sacha Bond and join with others in the call to transfer Sasha Bond, a twenty-two year old Canadian citizen, to Canada in order to serve the remainder of his prison sentence.

I would like to emphasize that Sacha did play a part in this crime. However there is the question of accountability of the actual bouncers and owners of the location in question who allowed Sacha to enter their premises under age and served him alcohol which indisputably lead to the action and criminal charges.

What we must also consider in this case is that the State of Florida did not take into account his mental illness of bipolar disorder. Dr. Merry Haber, a Miami forensic psychologist, was in charge of assessing Sacha following the laying of charges. She concluded that Sacha should not be held criminally responsible for his actions. She stated that the combination of alcohol which he was given illegally would place the liability of injury or damage squarely on the the owners of the strip bar. In addition he was not on the medication which he requires. She concluded that these factors contributed to a blackout in which Sacha had no control over his actions. She went on to say that Sacha has a future if given the qualified help he requires to follow his drug regimen and is given the psychotherapy and monitoring which he needs.

...he is not able to receive the medication that he needs to control his bipolar disorder. Sacha needs to be transferred to a Canadian prison where he can receive the needed medication.

Canada has a Prisoner Transfer Treaty under which over 200 Canadians who have been found guilty of committing offenses abroad have been granted a return home to serve their sentence in a Canadian correctional institution. Since Sacha does not pose a threat in any way in a Canadian prison and this is his first criminal charge, we ask you to deal humanely with this young man and allow him to be returned to Canada. It must be emphasized that allowing Sacha to remain in Florida for the remainder of the twenty year sentence without the required medication will cause far worse disorders.

Also a return to Canada would allow his family to visit him and assist in his treatment.

Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice ask that you take immediate steps to grant Sacha a transfer to Canada to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Yours truly,

Bob Stevenson,

President of Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice

cc Stephan Dion, MP

Leader of the Liberal Party

Jack Layton, Mp

Leader of the New Democratic Party

Gilles Duceppe, MP

Leader of the Bloc Quebecois