Convicted killer showed improvement while incarcerated for first-degree murder of Windsor, Ont. cab driver, parole officer testifies

Windsor police investigate the death of Thualfikar Alattiya, found in the backseat of his taxi, on Nov. 19, 2004. (CTV Files)

Thualfikar Alattiya, 41, was stabbed to death in November 2004.

In December 2007, Ali Al-Shammari, then 22, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder for his role in Alattiya's death.

Al-Shammari — who is now 38 years old — isn’t eligible to apply for parole until 2029 but his lawyers are asking to have that reduced in what’s known as a 'faint hope hearing' before a Windsor-Essex jury.

The jury will not decide if Al-Shammari can be released but rather whether or he can apply for parole sooner.

In her second day on the stand, parole officer Shona Donovan testified for Al-Shammari’s lawyers.

Christopher Hicks walked her through the lengthy parole eligibility summary report prepared for the hearing.

The pros

Although described in the beginning as “argumentative” in his prison programming, Al-Shammari showed continual improvement in his ratings in the federal system, according to Donovan.

Starting in 2009 and up to today, Al-Shammari has applied for and maintained employment in all of the prisons he has been housed in.

He continues to work on his education, is taking college courses and hopes to enter the trades when he is released.

Al-Shammari, according to Donovan, wants to start his own flooring and carpentry business.

He has maintained a relationship with his parents, in spite of being incarcerated for a time out west.

Donovan told the jury Al-Shammari has earned the right to have escorted temporary absences (ETA) from the prison in Gravenhurst, Ont. to visit his family in Windsor.

Al-Shammari is currently waiting for a Parole Board hearing to volunteer in the community with an ETA.

Most notably, Donovan told the jury Al-Shammari has been deemed unlikely to reoffend if granted parole through a complicated calculation known as a 'statistical information on recidivism.'

Al-Shammari scored a 14+ out of 15.

Put another way, the court heard Al-Shammari falls into a category that predicts four out of five former inmates will not commit an indictable offence upon release.

The cons

Assistant Crown Attorney George Spartinos highlighted areas of the report Al-Shammari’s lawyers did not.

He said when Al-Shammari was first arrested and until he was convicted, he was incarcerated in the provincial jail system in Windsor and Sarnia.

Between 2004 and 2007 Al-Shammari had 10 misconducts on his provincial file, including disruptive behaviour, being aggressive to staff, having contraband in his possession, threatening staff and fighting with an inmate.

Donovan said if the contraband had been something serious like a weapon or drugs, it would have been labelled a more serious charge.

Once in the federal system, between 2007 to present, Al-Shammari has six institutional charges including refusing to lock-up at night, taking sugar from the kitchen, leaving his employment without permission and being in a range or unit that was not his own.

Donovan said to Spartinos she did not ask Al-Shammari about his actions in November 2004 that landed him in prison.

She added it was outside her responsibilities in writing the parole eligibility summary report for this hearing.

The hearing will continue Thursday.