Susan Clairmont: Judge says ‘hope is not enough’ as she labels repeat convict a dangerous offender
For a moment it was chaos.
Justice Kim Carpenter-Gunn was swiftly escorted from her courtroom. Assistant Crown attorney Andrew Scott was out of his chair and backing away from the prisoner's box.
A special constable was on his feet making a grab for the offender.
And the convicted killer, rapist and soon-to-be dangerous offender, seemed ready to leap out of the box and head for the Crown.
John Massel's volatility, blind rage, inability to control his impulses and propensity for violence were on display in that tense moment Tuesday. It was like he was proving the judge's point as she delivered her reasons for declaring him a dangerous offender, a rare designation saved for Canada's worst criminals.
It is the 15th time a Hamilton offender has been made a dangerous offender.
Massel is now serving an indeterminate sentence. He will stay in prison until the Parole Board of Canada decides he is no longer a risk to public safety.
Massel, 54, is a short, balding man with plenty of tattoos, a foul mouth and nobody in the courtroom to support him. He fired his lawyer a while ago and has been representing himself, with the help of an amicus.
Massel's courtroom behaviour is always unpredictable.
Once, the judge had to issue an extraction order, authorizing police to use force to get him out of his cell and into the courtroom.
Another time, he called me by name and gave me a friendly thumbs-up. Later, he ranted that I had breached a publication ban. (I hadn't.) Then, the day after, he refused to speak to the judge because I was in the room.
This final outburst on Tuesday caused serious concern for safety. For that reason, the judge invoked a section of the Criminal Code of Canada that allowed her to continue her decision without Massel in the room. Instead, on Wednesday, Massel appeared in the courtroom via a Zoom link from the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre.
His mic was muted. He could be seen yelling and giving the camera the finger.
Massel's criminal record is 40 convictions long and begins with manslaughter. After drinking at a tavern, he knocked a man down and crushed his chest.
For the 37 years since, he has been in and out of custody.
He sexually assaulted his 12-year-old stepdaughter.
The repeated violations began with him masturbating in front on her. Then he forced her to perform oral sex on him.
He brought her to a private school in Ancaster where he worked, took her to an empty classroom and made her undress.
He performed oral sex on her in her own bed and raped her in his truck.
He has a long history of domestic violence. He has beaten both male and female partners. He struck one man over the head with a steel bar, and punched a woman in the face on two separate occasions.
He has threatened to kill his siblings and torch their homes in a dispute over their inheritance.
I'll watch you all burn in hell," he said.
He has done knifepoint robberies. Lots of them. Grocery stores, corner stores and a video store.
Five times he has gone AWL while on parole. Sometimes for weeks. He has dozens of breaches of his conditions. Some of his violent crimes were committed while on parole.
His offences are typically fuelled by his crack cocaine and alcohol use.
He has been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and substance use disorder. Psychiatric testing puts him just below the threshold of being diagnosed as a psychopath.
Treatment and counselling have not helped.
After considering countless psychiatric reports done over his years of incarceration, the judge concluded Massel is intractable," meaning he cannot be managed by medication or supervision.
He is, the doctors say, at moderate to high risk of reoffending.
One factor the judge needed to consider was whether Massel's risk of violence will drop as he ages.
The court heard some evidence that generally - very generally - the rate of recidivism for sexual offenders over the age of 70 drops. For some, the decline begins at 60. This is called the burnout theory."
Carpenter-Gunn says Massel's past behaviour is a more reliable predictor of his future behaviour than is the shaky research behind the burnout theory.
Before passing her sentence, Carpenter-Gunn ordered Massel's mic to be turned on. Did he have anything to say?
I'll deal with it in the appeal court."
With that, Carpenter-Gunn made her designation.
The protection of the public is the primary focus at a dangerous offender proceeding," she said. Massel's criminal record is abysmal" and demonstrates he is a significant threat to public safety."
Hope is not enough," the judge said.
By then, Massel had stormed away from the camera.
Susan Clairmont is a Hamilton-based crime, court and social justice columnist at The Spectator. Reach her via email: sclairmont@thespec.com