Do you believe in third chances?

John Smith, a 77-year-old retired man, has been given one last chance after being charged for assaulting and stalking his wife.

His daughter, Louise Desjardins, and ex-wife of 50 years, Gail Smith, have proposed themselves as assurities. This unusual plan means they will let him stay in their home — as an alternative to jail — and supervise him throughout the day until his trial is over.

Desjardins hadn’t had much contact with her father since her parents divorce. They drifted apart due to busy lifestyles, but she assures it was like a “regular father-daughter relationship” when they did see each other. “He’s been a good father even though the allegations against him are pretty bad. He’s family and I love him. It’s the right thing to do,” she said, when the Crown asked why she was doing this for him.

Desjardins then confirmed with the Crown that there were firearms in her household, but that it wasn’t an issue to have them removed if it was mandatory for her father’s release.

John Smith sat behind glass with a blank expression, leaned back, and under the watch of a police officer throughout most of the trial. His body language changed completely when his ex-wife took the stand. He faced her, sitting up, with his head down and hand on his forehead.

The defense lawyer, Tremblay, asked Gail Smith how she could possibly take her unfaithful ex-husband into her home after not saying a word to him since their divorce seven years ago. “Because I care about him and I think I don’t believe the charges against him were that severe,” she said.

Despite the Crown’s statement that Smith had a developing aggression that would be troubling to the plan, Tremblay argued that the family’s proposition to act as assurities stands as proof that they are separating themselves from the past.

On June 4th, 2010, he assaulted his wife of one year, Rita Helms, in their home on 641 Bathgate Avenue. He grabbed her wrists, pushed her into a reclining chair, then punched her in the chest and face. On Oct. 25th, he ignored his restraining order and was caught parked in front of Helms’ new address. On Nov. 9th, he was caught again, this time peering into the victim’s window.

The Judge gave a summary of the trial and repeated the charges, then concluded that Smith will be released on the conditions that both assurities pay $1000 each and that the firearms are removed from the Desjardins household.