|
95.7 FM's Andrew Krystal - No Special Treatment in Holding Cells |
|
|
|
Written by HalifaxLive
|
|
Sunday, 28 January 2007 |
 On January 16, 2007 the region's most popular gossip and discussion website, Atlantic Canada Live was the first to publish information that local talk radio personality Andrew Krystal had run afoul of the law earlier on that same day. Late last week court records confirmed that Krystal had been taken into custody by police after allegedly committing a breach of conditions from an earlier domestic assault and mischief charge.
The staff of Halifax Live wondered - what would it be like for people like Andrew Krystal, a successful public personality, to be in what must be an extremely intimidating position. So we decided to find out. We were lucky enough to find and interview a local man who found himself in similar circumstances 18 months ago. For obvious reasons our source will be referred to simply as "Max".
Max who is today a successful local businessman found himself on the wrong side of the law after drinking large volumes of alcohol and causing a good deal of mischief as a result of all that liquid courage. Max was lucky however and was literally "scared straight" by his experience.
So we asked Max to explain to us and subsequently our readers what it may have been like for people like Andrew Krystal who are apprehended by police for alleged breach of conditions. According to someone who has been there twice, the following is a generalized description of what Andrew Krystal may have been subjected to.
--After police determine that the suspect has breached a condition of release resulting from an earlier charge, they transport the suspect to the provincial courthouse in Halifax or Dartmouth and upon arrival, the suspect is taken directly to "cells". Being transported directly to the courthouse cells occurs only during court hours, Monday through Friday. If the suspect has the misfortune of being apprehended on a Friday night, they will spend the weekend in the Burnside correctional facility and will not see a judge until the following Monday.
--First a thorough exterior body search is performed referred to as a pat down.
--All of the suspect's possessions are temporarily confiscated, itemized and bagged.
--If the police have any reason to believe that the suspect might be a danger to himself or others, certain parts of his attire will be removed; in Krystal's case they removed his shoe laces.
--The suspect is then placed into a holding cell. The cells in the Dartmouth location do not have bars. Instead, the doors are constructed of heavy steel with one small plexiglass window at eye level to the guards. Max still shudders whenever he thinks about the sound of that heavy steel door slamming behind him as he was locked inside. People like Andrew Krystal are no doubt paralyzed with fear at this point.
--The cells are approximately 14 X 14 feet and can hold between 20 to 25 people. At capacity, it would be uncomfortably crowded in there. They are constructed almost completely of heavy steel with a concrete floor. The only "furniture" in the cells are benches along the walls; the benches are extensions of the walls themselves. In one corner of the cells one can find a bathroom of sorts - merely a steel toilet and sink - no door which means no privacy.
--Depending how long a suspect is detained in cells, the guard will offer a lunch of sorts - usually a very dry sandwich and a drink. No smoking is allowed.
Max pauses for a moment and then begins to chuckle. We ask what could possibly be funny about finding one's self in such a terryfying situation and Max tells us that the walls of the cells weren't grey - they were pink! We couldn't come up with a good reason for the choice in colour especially since any self-respecting interior designer will tell you that pink walls are used to promote romance and tranquility.
But it wasn't merely the colour of the walls but the graffiti scribbled all over the walls - Max explained that if a suspect happened to find himself alone in cells, the graffiti alone would keep him entertained for hours. Interspersed with the obvious intense feelings for the law in general were other more telling scribblings - 'this one is a rat and here's his name, address and phone number' or accusations of false arrest and 'it's not their fault' or promises to pay back a colleague who had managed to not get caught, or the usual "didn't do nuthins". Max believes there are years and years of accounts on those walls.
Even Andrew Krystal may have left his mark but it's highly doubtful.
Eventually the suspect's name is called. They will finally get to see a judge. Whether they want to or not. The guard opens the cell door, tells the suspect to come out and immediately handcuffs him. Then the suspect is led to the courtroom where he is told to sit down on a bench or chair on one of the two side walls, closest to his lawyer.
His name is called and he must rise and face the judge while he or she reads the current charges. The Crown and the suspect's lawyer who refer to each other as "my friend" during proceedings, have already consulted beforehand and most likely reached an agreement to the Crown's sentencing recommendation to the judge - the suspect could be remanded (kept in jail until the plea date), or released on more conditions to keep the peace, to stay away from drugs and alcohol, etc. The judge in most cases will agree with the Crown's recommendation.
Andrew Krystal was obviously granted a conditional release and according to news reports, will be required to return to court on February 20. On that date he will enter a plea of 'guilty' or 'not guilty' to all charges before him including the added charge of breach of conditions, a charge that doesn't sit well with many judges. The more charges and breaches a suspect accumulates, the higher chance of spending some time behind bars.
Max sums up by telling us that his run-in with the law and especially the times he spent behind the cell's steel doors was the most harrowing experience of his life. After landing there twice, he swore it would never happen again. He truly was scared straight.
Time will tell if the same providence will befall Andrew Krystal. It's entirely up to him.
|
