An Island man who was found guilty of killing his common-law wife in 1994 will be staying in prison after the National Parole Board denied his release.
Douglas Leo Beamish, 56, is housed in an Ontario prison and appeared before the board on July 26 for a hearing to determine if he should be released on day or full parole.
In its decision, the board said Beamish’s lack of understanding as to why he acts out violently brings into question his ability to not repeat the same behaviour.
Beamish is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder after he was found guilty of killing his common-law wife Shirley Duguay.
Duguay disappeared in 1994 and when Beamish reported it to the police he gave the impression she had abandoned him and her three children. Her body was found in a shallow grave almost a year later.
Beamish lost an appeal of his conviction and the parole board report said he continues to deny his guilt.
In its report, the parole board said Beamish was deemed to have a medium level of motivation and low reintegration potential. The board said his conduct in prison appeared satisfactory but was described as demanding and confrontational with a negative view toward the justice system.
Although he didn’t have a history of institutional violence, the board noted he had numerous charges for disobeying the rules and had 17 disciplinary convictions. Those included 10 refusals to give urine samples.
Beamish had two suspensions from the prison’s education centre and in May he made inappropriate comments to a female correctional officer.
His request for a transfer to a minimum-security prison was also recently denied.
The board said Beamish’s psychiatric risk assessment from September 2012 suggested he represented a low-moderate risk for violence toward the general public, but was an elevated risk to intimate partners.
In its report, the board said Beamish’s behaviour could be described as having a negative attitude.
When he was asked to attend an interview, Beamish responded his hours were Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and he refused to attend.
The board said it was informed at the start of the hearing that Beamish didn’t expect to get a conditional release and his intention for having the hearing was to familiarize himself with the process.
It also said Beamish wasn’t cooperating with his case management team while incarcerated, which lead the board to believe he wouldn’t be able to work with anyone attempting to monitor his reintegration into the community.
The board denied his requests for day and full parole.
