Yellowknife man convicted of murder granted 6-month day parole

A Yellowknife man who spent decades in prison has now been granted day parole for six months. 

Francis Yukon, 49, has been convicted of murder, manslaughter and attempted murder, among other violent crimes. A parole board has said he's made significant progress in recent years through substance abuse treatment, programming for violent offenders and cultural programming. 

In a Dec. 20 decision, the Parole Board of Canada said Yukon now has a better understanding of his behaviours and triggers. 

Yukon has been accepted into an Indigenous treatment centre and after completing programming there, he'll live in a community-based residential facility — sometimes called a halfway house — in British Columbia. 

The parole decision says that Yukon has an elder in the B.C. area where he'll be living for community support. 

Yukon was previously granted 60-day parole to attend treatment and complied with all parole conditions at the time.

The board's decision said that shows improvement and stands in contrast to previous periods of supervision. In 2003 Yukon was convicted of manslaughter for beating and strangling a drug dealer with a group of others. The group then tried to burn the man's body to cover up the crime. Yukon was on probation at the time.  

In 2005, while in custody, Yukon held and stabbed another inmate. The man died and Yukon was convicted of second- degree murder. Yukon has also been charged with assault and attempted murder for other altercations while in custody. 

While on parole, Yukon is prohibited from consuming drugs or alcohol, from contact with anyone in a gang or involved in criminal activity. He's barred from contact with any of his victims of their families and must report any friendships and relationships with women. The decision says that's because Yukon has a history of intimate partner violence and has previously been with partners who abuse drugs and alcohol. 

The board said the plan is sufficient to manage Yukon's risk and helps facilitate reintegration into society.