We are seeking your support in calling for a humanitarian parole for a federally sentenced native woman prisoner, Sandy Paquachon, who has served over twenty consecutive years in prison -- an extraordinary length of time, in light of the "crimes" for which she was convicted.

Sandy Paquachon is presently hospitalized in the ICU at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, after being "committed,' and involuntarily transferred to the Regional Psychiatric Center (RPC) in Saskatoon.

I am writing on behalf of a coalition of equality-seeking groups, including the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS), the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC), and Strength in Sisterhood/Womyn4justice, who are involved in follow up to their work to ensure that the recommendations of the Canadian Human Rights Commission regarding CSC's discriminatory treatment of federally sentenced women.

I am also writing on a personal level because I was imprisoned with Sandy over twenty years ago, and since being released have kept in touch with her through letters, visits and phone calls. Sandy is the quintessential native woman prisoner whose history with the Canadian criminal justice system is a perfect example of why it sometimes "takes a village," as they say, to rectify the wrongs perpetrated by this system.

Sandy has been illegally restrained both with shackles and with medication during her hospitalization at the ICU. It took legal intervention to force the CSC to have the shackles removed, despite the fact she is heavily sedated at the time of this writing. It is illegal to shackle a patient in an ICU ward without cause, a situation Sandy has been faced with many times before.

Sandy was also recently "committed" to the RPC after being transferred to the Edmonton Institute for Women. It is hard to imagine what happened that resulted in her being "committed," considering that when I visited her in the beginning of May, and when her family and others spoke to her during that month, she appeared completely sane and competent.

Besides being involuntarily transferred to the RPC, Sandy has been involuntarily transferred a number of times to different prisons for very tenuous reasons at best.

We would like your support for the following:

1) we would like a guarantee that Sandy will not be illegally restrained again

2) all CSC and medical files for Sandy Paquachon be forwarded immediately to her lawyers, Don Worme and Darren Winegarrden and CSC execute no further involuntary transfers without her lawyers first reviewing the reasons behind these decisions.

3) A referral to the Minister of Justice for an immediate review of her April 22nd 1994, 2nd degree murder conviction as a result of her confession to being involved in what was at most an assisted suicide

4) an immediate review by the National Parole Board of Sandy Paquacon's file for release on a humanitarian parole at the earliest possible date.

Thank you for your support, and if you have further questions, please contact Kim Pate at (613) 238-2422; kpate@web.ca, and/or Ann Hansen at hansen45@hotmail.com.

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