Douglas Garland assaulted by multiple inmates at Calgary jail
Triple murderer Douglas Garland was rushed to hospital Friday night after being attacked while in custody at a Calgary jail, CBC News has learned.
Just hours earlier Garland was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 75 years in the first-degree murders of five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents Alvin and Kathy Liknes.
According to EMS, around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, an ambulance was called to the Calgary Remand Centre after reports a man in his 50s had been assaulted.
CBC News has confirmed the patient was Garland.
He was taken to hospital in stable, non-life-threatening condition with soft tissue injuries.
Calgary police confirm assault
Calgary police said in a release they are investigating the Friday night assault at the Calgary Remand Centre, but declined to identify the victim.
They say it's alleged several men assaulted a 57-year-old man and that both the alleged offenders and victim are inmates of the Remand Centre.
"Investigators are working with officials from Alberta Justice and Solicitor General to determine the circumstances of this assault and obtain further evidence," police said.
Garland Defence lawyer 'disappointed'
Garland's defence lawyer Kim Ross said he wasn't aware of the specific circumstances surrounding the assault, but said he found the news disappointing, as Garland has been in custody for 2½ years without incident.
"I fully understand that Mr. Garland is not going to win any Mr. Popularity contests, but the system still has a duty and is mandated to make sure that he is protected, that his physical safety, his mental safety are being looked after," Ross said.
Ian Savage, the president of the Calgary-based Criminal Defence Lawyers Association, said his organization is calling upon the Remand Centre to explain exactly how the assault happened.
"Obviously a child murder is one of the most horrific things that we as a society would abhor, and while he [was] awaiting trial on that matter he [needed] to be protected from potential assault from other inmates, that's just obvious," Savage said.
"So how this could possibly happen at this stage in the proceedings needs explaining."
Garland is expected to be released from the hospital and transported back to the Remand Centre later Saturday.
Because of the time frame of the appeal process, Ross said Garland will be held at the centre for a short time before being transferred to a federal prison.
