A Kamloops man who in 2016 stabbed his roommate to death during a fight over money inside the suite they shared in a Valleyview motel is being released from prison, despite having been labelled a "high risk" to reoffend.
According to a Parole Board of Canada document dated March 14, Gordon Camille, 71, is due to be statutorily released from federal prison.
Camille was sentenced in 2018 to five years and eight months behind bars following a manslaughter conviction.
On Jan. 26, 2016, Dennis Adolph was found dead in the 4 Seasons Motel suite he shared with Camille. The 49-year-old died of blood loss after suffering a single stab wound to the abdomen.
Adolph’s body was found after Camille reported his injuries to motel staff, who called police. Court heard Camille admitted during a 17-hour police interview that he was responsible for killing Adolph, but the confession was ruled inadmissible.
Despite that, Camille was convicted following a trial in B.C. Supreme Court.
Camille has a tragic history that includes sexual abuse at the hands of a priest while a student at residential school, according to the Parole Board of Canada. He has struggled throughout his life with alcohol addiction.
He also has a lengthy criminal record including another manslaughter conviction, this one from 1984. In that instance, he drunkenly shot his wife while she was using an outhouse.
Camille has served jail time for two other Kamloops stabbings and one stomping incident. Each of his violent offences, including the attack that killed Adolph, involved alcohol use.
“There are some gaps in your offences, but your file states that overall you have struggled to stay away from alcohol and crime, that you can be very violent when you drink alcohol and that your transient lifestyle contributes to your offending in a negative way,” the Parole Board of Canada decision in Camille’s case reads.
“A recent psychological risk assessment indicates that you are a high risk for reoffending.”
Camille, who suffers from a number of health problems, was not granted early release and is being released statutorily. He has been accepted into a half-way house in an unnamed Interior city.
While on parole, Camille will be required to reside at his half-way house, abstain from alcohol and drug use, avoid contact with criminal associates and report any sexual and non-sexual relationships to his parole officer.
Statutory release is for offenders who have served two thirds of a federal sentence without being granted parole.
