Helen Naslund at the Edmonton Institution For Women, where she is serving a sentence for killing her abusive husband, Miles Naslund, in Edmonton, on Aug. 2.Amber Bracken/The Globe and Mail
Helen Naslund, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence for killing her abusive husband, will face a parole hearing on Wednesday, to see whether she is eligible for unescorted temporary absences from the Edmonton Institution for Women.
Unescorted temporary absences are granted by the Parole Board of Canada, and allow federal inmates to leave prison alone for limited periods. Unescorted temporary absences are considered to be the step before day parole.
Ms. Naslund, 58, was charged with first-degree murder after the remains of her husband, Miles Naslund, were found on their rural Alberta property in September of 2017. After her arrest, Ms. Naslund told RCMP she shot her husband in the back of the head while he slept on the Labour Day weekend of 2011, then disposed of his body, car and guns, and reported him missing to RCMP.
Decades of abuse, then years in prison: Inside Helen Naslund's fight for her life – and justice
She was sentenced to 18 years in prison in October, 2020, after agreeing to a plea deal. Under the terms of the deal, Ms. Naslund pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and the murder charges against herself and her youngest son were stayed. First-degree murder convictions in Canada carry a mandatory life sentence in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Ms. Naslund’s 18-year sentence was one of the longest terms an abused woman had ever received for manslaughter in Canada, and sparked a backlash that saw influential advocates from around the country rally on her behalf. Ms. Naslund, a mother of four and grandmother of eight, had been severely abused by her husband for nearly 30 years, including being threatened and held at gunpoint by him the evening before he was killed.
In exclusive interviews with The Globe and Mail, Ms. Naslund and those closest to her recounted the life-threatening violence she and her sons endured on the farm, and how it ultimately escalated to the killing of Mr. Naslund.
More than 29,000 people have signed a petition asking that Ms. Naslund be released from prison.
Ms. Naslund’s sentence was lowered to nine years by the Alberta Court of Appeal in June, 2021, after an appeal filed by Edmonton defence lawyer Mona Duckett. In the appeal, Ms. Duckett argued that Ms. Naslund’s sentence brought the administration of justice into disrepute, and was contrary to the public interest.
In the court’s two-to-one decision, Justice Sheila Greckol concluded that the 18-year sentence was “demonstrably unfit,” and didn’t take into account or understand the context of Ms. Naslund’s experience as a battered woman.
“It is impermissible and outdated thinking to suggest that women who are unable to leave situations of domestic violence remain by choice, and such thinking could not help but have influenced the lens through which the joint submission was viewed in this case,” Justice Greckol wrote.
She said women such as Ms. Naslund are in “a distinctly vulnerable position in plea negotiations,” given the risk of facing a mandatory life sentence for murder.
People serving sentences of more than three years are eligible for unescorted temporary absences after serving a sixth of their sentence.
Ms. Naslund has been in prison since October, 2020, and served additional time in custody before being released on bail after her arrest in 2017.
A number of supporters are expected to attend Ms. Naslund’s parole board appearance in her support.