A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has ordered the return of a convicted killer to a minimum-security prison. This decision follows allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member that led to his transfer. Justice Eric Gottardi ruled that the transfer of Treyvonne Willis to the medium-security Mountain prison in the Fraser Valley was unreasonable.

The transfer occurred after a staff member at the William Head Institution on Vancouver Island reported witnessing Willis hug and kiss a prison manager in a locked building in February. Willis denied the kiss but admitted to hugging the manager, referred to only as CM, to comfort her after she shared personal issues.

Willis, who was convicted of contracted murder in Winnipeg in 2015, filed a petition seeking a judicial review of his transfer from both Mountain and William Head prisons. Justice Gottardi supported Willis's claims, stating that his denial of the kiss was not adequately considered by prison officials before his emergency transfer to Mountain.

In his written ruling, Gottardi noted, "It seems as though the warden may have disbelieved Mr. Willis’ denials about the kissing and accepted the observation of the correctional officer. There is no discussion about the reliability of either version of events or an articulation of any reasons for rejecting Mr. Willis’ narrative. These omissions clearly detract from the intelligibility of the decision."

The judge also pointed out that the warden failed to recognize the power imbalance between Willis and CM. He stated, "The warden’s conclusion that Mr. Willis should have brought his concerns about the relationship forward to staff are unreasonable, in that they fail to grapple with the existence of a significant power imbalance between Mr. Willis and the impugned staff member."

Gottardi emphasized that it was not reasonable for the warden to expect Willis to set boundaries to protect himself from unprofessional behavior by a senior staff member.

Correctional Service Canada has not commented on the status of CM's employment following the incident. A source indicated that she was escorted from the property after the allegations surfaced.

Willis was convicted of first-degree murder for the stabbing of Kaila Tran, 26, outside her St. Vital apartment on June 20, 2012. In a videotaped confession, he admitted to being hired for the murder but did not disclose the identity of the person who contracted him. Although police initially suspected Tran's ex-boyfriend, the charge against him was later stayed. Willis's appeals to the Manitoba Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada were unsuccessful.