A Superior Court judge has taken the “extreme” step of reducing a man’s seven-year prison sentence for drug trafficking and gun possession to time served because of his treatment inside the Toronto South Detention Centre.Tal Singh Fermah “has endured conditions in our institution — our most modern institution in the province — that I consider to be harsh and unconscionable and I don’t think he should serve any more time. I’m just going to sentence him to time served,” Justice Anne Molloy said last week.“It’s an extreme thing that I’m doing,” she said. She added he should be released from custody “as soon as possible.”Molloy delivered her bottom-line with just a few comments, but promised to release a written ruling as soon as possible, with “proper reasons” otherwise “it’s not going to hold up” on appeal, she told court June 6.In an email to the Star, defence lawyer Nakita Kelsey said she was “overjoyed” by the decision, calling it “a groundbreaking remedy for clients who are not treated properly in jail.” “This decision should place the treatment of prisoners at (the jail) under a microscope and should also act as a catalyst for a broader review of the treatment of prisoners at correctional facilities,” she said. “This is a wake-up call for the authorities at these institutions.”While Molloy has a reputation for bold decisions on prisoner welfare, she isn’t the first judge to offer a sentencing discount to offenders after raising concerns about the facility.In March, Justice John McMahon shaved time from a convicted drug dealer’s sentence, saying it was “absolutely unacceptable” and “unfair” that inmates at the South are frequently subjected to full lockdowns, keeping them confined to cells, unable to use the phones and have visitors, including seeing their law ...
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