Pubdate: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 The Kingston Whig-Standard Contact: http://www.kingstonwhigstandard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224 Author: Arthur Milnes Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) KP NURSE SMUGGLED DRUGS FOR INMATES Local News - A registered nurse who worked in the prison hospital at Kingston Penitentiary has pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs for inmates. Deborah Coates, 41, who also worked at Kingston General Hospital for 17 years, was sentenced to a nine-month jail term, to be served conditionally in the community. Prosecutor Dave Crowe told Mr. Justice Rommel Masse of the Ontario Court of Justice yesterday that investigators learned from telephone taps that Coates was bringing drugs into the prison for two inmates. "[The inmates] had Coates bring drugs into the hospital and then arrange to meet them to pass on the packages," Crowe said. Security staff seized a package carried by Coates on Oct. 2, 2000, and found it contained 51 grams of marijuana. Coates was charged. Crowe said the drugs were worth more than $1,500 inside a federal prison. Depression Coates's lawyer, Robert Richardson, said his client suffers from severe depression. This made her vulnerable to preying inmates and she acted completely out of character, he said. Richardson gave the judge medical and psychological reports which said there was little chance the nurse would commit such a crime again. "There's no reason to believe Ms. Coates would not learn from this experience," Richardson told the judge when asked what might happen if the woman falls under someone's spell again. The defence lawyer also said his client left Kingston because of the embarrassment the charge brought her and she now attends school in Welland, with the support of her husband and children. Despite the seriousness of the crime, both Crowe and Richardson told Mr. Justice Masse they support a conditional sentence because of the woman's circumstances. "Your crime constitutes a serious breach of trust," the judge told Coates. He said her job as a nurse was to dispense medicine and help provide medical care in the prison hospital. "Bringing drugs into the institution is a far cry from that." He agreed to accept the conditional sentence recommendation and placed Coates under virtual house arrest for the first four months of the nine-month sentence. She also must perform 50 hours of community service during the nine months of her sentence and 50 more after that. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex