HALIFAX — The partner of late Halifax activist Raymond Taavel says he feels it’s “too early” for Andre Denny to be granted more community privileges, but he’s encouraged by the Criminal Code Review Board’s direction that it be alerted if anything concerning arises.

In 2016, Denny was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter in Taavel’s April 2012 death, when he was beaten outside Menz & Mollyz Bar in Halifax. With about six years credit for time served, Denny has served out his sentence and probation at East Coast Forensic Hospital.

At the CCRB hearing Monday, held at the ECFH where Denny receives treatment, the board granted the hospital team’s request that his community privileges be raised from a “ceiling” of Level 2 to Level 4 (L4).

Where L2 only allowed for supervised use of the grounds or community, the new level allows for community access without direct supervision by staff, where passes may be assigned up to a maximum of 14 hours per day. It also accumulates those privileges in Level 3 (L3) which allows for unsupervised access to the hospital grounds.

“I pray that nothing happens. They’re not going to be letting him out on his own tomorrow ... but they’re working in that direction and I pray that he doesn’t have an episode and hurt somebody else,” Darren Lewis, Taavel’s partner, said after the hearing.

At his last appearance before the CCRB in December, the CCRB directed the hospital team to keep the L2 ceiling while using the provision of an “approved person” to supervise Denny on his outings, that could include a family member.

However, on Monday the board heard that the latest hearing had been called after the hospital administration decided that “approved person” clause in L2 was not appropriate and would be soon removed from that section.

The hospital team emphasized again Monday that the only way for Denny to move forward with new rehabilitation options, and activities important to his Indigenous culture like attending a sweat lodge, would be with the L4 ceiling as it wouldn’t be appropriate for staff to go to such activities with him.

The doctors and other medical experts on the team outlined Denny’s behaviour since December, stating that he has been responding favourably to the antipsychotic Clozapine he began in September while his dosages have been adjusted up until last week.

Denny (a dual-status offender who was declared criminally responsible in Taavel’s case but not criminally responsible in two previous cases, hence the ongoing ECFH care) recognizes the benefit of the drug, is much calmer, less intrusive and argumentative, a doctor on the team said.

The team did point out two “troubling utterances” Denny made this March: once while arguing on the phone with his father he was heard to say he felt like “putting his hands against someone’s throat and smashing them against the wall.”

Ten days after the first incident, Denny became upset that a close friend in hospital had been having seizures possibly related to substances, and became worried fentanyl had been brought in. Denny told a staff member if that was true, “he’d want to go and murder the person who had supplied the fentanyl.”

Both times hospital staff intervened right away and talked with Denny about why he spoke that way, and both times he said he was upset and venting frustrations but had no intention to hurt anyone.

“I would view that as a threat,” Crown lawyer Karen Quigley said after the hearing about the verbal outbursts. “The Crown is concerned about those statements made within less than the last month.”

Quigley raised those points, and her view that Denny has not had a long enough period of stability on his medication, when asking the board keep Denny at L2.

Because Denny has a history of drug and alcohol abuse, he was attending AA until this February, the team said, when the volunteer-run program requested he no longer attend. The team said Denny was talking over facilitators, dominating the conversation, and being disruptive but these are “features of his personality” and not related to illness.

Since then he has been having one-on-one meetings with a team member going over substance abuse issues, who added she would look into connecting him to more community supports.

In his decision, board chair Peter Lederman said it was important to raise the ceiling to L4 so Denny has “something to look forward to” and the hospital team has room to attempt more rehabilitation and community reintegration.

But, Lederman added he wants to be notified of any incidents of verbal or physical aggression, substance use, or other health concerns around Denny’s use of Clozapine which can be hard on a person’s white blood cells. Any of those things would “put the breaks on” and the board would revisit Denny’s privileges, he said.

Lederman told reporters after the hearing that since the hospital team deemed the verbal outbursts not a form of worrying aggression, it didn’t take away from the general impression that Denny has made progress although “it’s not helpful to him to say stuff like that.”

“It’s a trial run and we’ll never know how successful Mr. Denny will be unless he is gradually and carefully allowed to exercise some access to the community,” Lederman said.

Although in the hearing Lewis stated that the last time the hospital team and the board gave Denny privileges, “he killed my partner,” Lederman said many changes have been made since Denny went AWOL in 2012 and “that could not happen again.”

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“That incident was an anomalous one I would think,” Lederman said.

Lewis said he hopes that the board is right, and while he is feeling “cautious” about the change to L4 and isn’t confident Denny can control his own behaviour when alone, he’s “encouraged” the board will be notified of any issues right away.

“I guess huge leap of faith, and hope for the best,” Lewis said.

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