Colonel's actions not sign of guilt, experts say
Apparent Suicide Bid
Mary Vallis, National Post, With Files From Canwest News Service
Colonel Russell Williams' apparent suicide attempt is not necessarily an indication he is guilty or feels remorse, experts say.
Severe guilt can play a role in an attempted prison suicide, but childhood trauma, mental illness, isolation and the shock of being behind bars for the first time are also possible factors, among others.
"Usually an attempted suicide is not a single thing. It's usually a combination of different factors," said Heather Stuart, a professor in the department of community health and epidemiology at Queen's University in Kingston. She helped draft a resource manual for the World Health Organization on how to prevent suicide among correctional populations.
Remanded prisoners are at significantly higher risk of attempting suicide than inmates who have been sentenced, Prof. Stuart added.
"It's partly because of the turmoil of the process. You're going through a court case and you don't know if you're going to be found innocent or guilty ... depending on what's going on, your family may or may not be providing you with social support."
The high-profile arrest of Col. Williams, former base commander of CFB Trenton, Ont, and his subsequent loss of prestige could also play a role, said Linsdsay Hayes, project director with the U.S.-based National Center on Institutions and Alternatives.
"The likelihood that even if they're found not guilty that they might not be able to go back into their chosen profession is certainly part of the process that is involved when someone chooses to attempt or commit suicide," he said.
"It could also be a time in which the defendant is trying to create some kind of sympathy to either the court, to the jury, to his family."
A Kingston newspaper reported Col. Williams tried to kill himself in his segregation cell at Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., by stuffing cardboard from a toilet paper roll down his throat over Easter weekend. The paper also reported that he wrote a suicide note on the wall in mustard. The message said his feelings are too much to bear.
Col. Williams, 47, was arrested on Feb. 7 and is being held in custody awaiting trial. He is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd, of Belleville, Ont., and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau of Brighton, Ont. He also faces sexual-assault charges in relation to two home invasions in the Tweed, Ont., area in September 2009.
Col. Williams was last seen by the public through a video link during a brief court appearance two weeks ago. Observers described him as appearing tired and downcast. He is now said to be on 24-hour suicide watch.
An advocate for victims of crime said Col. Williams' actions make him a "formidable coward."
"He's taking the easy way out," said Joe Wamback, volunteer chairman and founder of the Canadian Crime Victim Foundation.
None of the allegations against Col. Williams has been proven in court. He is next scheduled to appear in court on April 29.
mvallis@nationalpost.com
