Michael Nehass deserves 'proper health care,' says defence lawyer

A defence lawyer is asking to have a Yukon inmate who has spent years in segregation moved to an Ontario mental health facility before determining if he should be designated a dangerous offender.

Michael Nehass, 32, has spent most of his adult life behind bars in Whitehorse. This week he is facing a Yukon Supreme Court hearing to determine if he could be labelled a dangerous offender, a designation that could keep him locked up indefinitely.

But defence lawyer Anik Morrow says Nehass is mentally ill and has not received appropriate treatment. On Tuesday she asked the Supreme Court of Yukon to send Nehass to Ontario to see if his condition will improve with treatment before it continues with the hearing.

"This could be reversible," she said.

"This is an injured, damaged individual. Having him in segregation is not what we should be doing. He should be sent to a place where he can get appropriate health care." 

Crown prosecutor Eric Marcoux agrees that Nehass shows signs of mental illness. This includes a belief in mind-control conspiracies involving police, government and oil companies which Nehass has expressed in incoherent documents filed to the court.

"The Crown has a fear that if these issues are not addressed, it may lead to an injustice against Mr. Nehass. If he were unfit for these proceedings, this entire process would be unfair," Marcoux said.

Condition has only worsened in segregation, court hears

Morrow says Nehass's diagnosis for mental illness goes back to 2014 however "nothing has changed" at Whitehorse Correctional in terms of his incarceration.

In court Tuesday she cited doctors who said Nehass's condition has deteriorated because of segregation and social isolation.

She also cited UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan E. Ménde who says solitary confinement in excess of 15 days should be prohibited and has a disproportionately-damaging effect on people with mental illness.   

Ontario facility recommended 

Morrow is asking the court to send Nehass to the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences in Whitby, Ont., which offers assessment, treatment and rehabilitation services including a secure unit for patients referred by the court system.

Morrow told the court that Nehass deserves a chance at treatment so the court can see if his condition will improve, before the court determines if he is at long-term risk of re-offending.

The court has not yet decided on the request.

One question is likely to be security and whether Nehass can be released into a facility with less security than Whitehorse Correctional Centre.

Nehass has a long criminal record, dating back to when he was convicted at age 19 in connection with the torture of a Whitehorse man. Nehass was convicted of beating the man with a baseball bat while an accomplice cut the man's finger off.

During the last five years in custody he's also been sentenced for assaulting jail guards, setting fires, throwing urine and feces and causing $35,000 in damage at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre.

'Another option needs to be tried'

Nehass did not speak in court today — a notable departure from previous court cases where he railed against conspirators.

He was represented by both a defence lawyer and an impartial legal advisor called an amicus curae. Richard Fowler told the court he agrees with the idea of sending Nehass for treatment. 

"It's hard to disagree that another option needs to be tried," he said. 

The court reconvenes tomorrow and will hear from a lead doctor at the Ontario facility. 

Nehass' treatment has been called 'systematic abuse' by the Yukon New Democrats. The incoming Liberal government in Yukon has pledged to end solitary confinement in the territory.