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Former cop in prison for murdering his wife can continue escorted absences from prison

Keith Wiens was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2013.
Keith Wiens
Keith Wiens.

A former Summerland police officer in prison in Ontario for killing his common-law wife will be allowed to continue his escorted temporary absences.

A jury found Keith Gregory Wiens guilty in 2013 of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Lynn Kalmring two years earlier.

He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

In 2019, to the shock of Kalmring's family, Wiens applied for, and was granted, escorted temporary absences from Joyceville Institution, the minimum-security prison in Kingston, Ont. where he is being held.

The nature of the absences, which are approved by the warden, were described as "community services purposes."

The original decision by the Parole Board of Canada was for one year.

Last week, the parole board extended the supervised absences until the date Wiens is eligible for day parole in January 2022.

In its decision, the parole board says Wiens will continue to be escorted and supervised by CSA staff or trained volunteers, and proposed ETA locations do not raise victim concerns, nor any opportunity for incidental victim contact.

While the parole board ruled Wiens does not present an "undue risk to society during his absence," certain conditions were attached.

"You remain assessed as having a high risk for intimate partner violence and, despite having taken programming, this risk remains substantially unaddressed and unmitigated," the parole board decision stated.

"Therefore, in order to protect other females from the risk you continue to pose, you are to report any and all friendships, sexual and non-sexual relationships with women to your parole supervisor."

The supervised absences are restricted to a maximum of eight hours at any one time, and 40 hours over the course of a month.