The former base commander at C-F-B Trenton is said to have tricked staff at the Quinte Detention Centre into believing his mental state had stabilized. Russell Williams, accused of murdering two women and sexually assaulting two others, was taken off strict suicide watch in recent weeks because his behaviour seemed rational and compliant. He was even allowed to wear regular clothes, receive standard meals and not be watched by security staff around-the-clock, but authorities now believe he spent considerable time plotting to kill himself. Williams pushed a toilet tissue tube filled with cardboard down his throat in an unsuccessful suicide attempt on the weekend.
Experts says Colonel Russell Williams’ suicide attempt is not necessarily an indication he is guilty or feels remorse. Queen’s University department of community health and epidemiology professor Heather Stuart says an attempted suicide is usually not a single thing, but a combination of different factors.. She helped draft a resource manual for the World Health Organization on how to prevent suicide among correctional populations. Stuart also said remanded prisoners are at significantly higher risk of attempting suicide than inmates who have been sentenced.
An advocate for victims of crime calls Colonel Russell Williams a coward for attempting suicide in prison. The founder of the Canadian Crime Victim Foundation, Joe Wamback, says perhaps the man is the most formidable coward that existed, somebody who is so terrified of being restrained . . . he’s taking the easy way out. He calls Williams’ weekend suicide attempt at the Quinte Detention Centre the most extreme manifestation of cowardice he has seen in all the years he has been advocating for victims.
