Crime and Punishment in Northumberland
There have been four correctional centres in Northumberland County: the Cobourg Jail, Brookside Training School, Millbrook Institution, and Warkworth Institution.
Only one remains. The histories of these prisons and their practices point to society’s limited knowledge of how to rehabilitate prisoners and mould them into functioning members of society.
Cobourg resident John L. Hill has practiced his specialty of prison law in each of them. Hill obtained an Hon. B.A. and M.A. in political science and a J.D. in Law from Queen’s University. He also earned a LL.M. in Constitutional Law from Osgoode Hall Law School. He taught Prison Law at Queen’s and in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Windsor. Most of the time, he was engaged in private law practice, defending those accused of major crimes such as murder and drug conspiracies.
More of his time was spent representing prisoners in institutional courts, before the Parole Board of Canada, and launching civil actions against the government of Canada for breaches of prisoners’ rights. Hill will share some anecdotes of prisoners who spent time in the four Northumberland jails and possible improvements to our justice system.
John is the author of 3 books: Pine Box Parole, The Rest of the [True Crime] Story, and the upcoming Acts of Darkness. He is also a regular columnist for Law360 Canada, an online newspaper for the legal community.
Join us on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, for an informative presentation at Cobourg’s Victoria Hall. Doors open at 7:00 pm, and the meeting starts at 7:30 pm. All are welcome. There will be coffee, tea, and the usual cookies, so bring a friend or two! Members attend for free, and guests are $5.00.