Nov. 30, 2023 – Prison crimes…
CBC News – Shanifa Nasser –
Video of Soleiman Faqiri’s final moments made public for 1st time since jail cell death
An inquest into the death in custody of Soleiman Faqiri, a mentally ill person in the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont., has revealed that a guard omitted from his report that Faqiri had suffered a number of blows to his head and other key factors in Faqiri’s treatment. The jury has heard an audio tape of an 80 minute interview s which had not surfaced to date. The details of the mistreatment are graphic and disturbing. Said lawyer and Inquest Counsel Prabhu Rajan: “Soleiman should not have died that day in his jail cell. But more importantly, he should not even have been there in a jail lacking adequate health care resources within a broader system that doesn’t effectively deal with individuals affected by significant psychiatric issues.” https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7033938 Related article: CBC News – Shanifa Nasser Guard in charge the day Soleiman Faqiri died left out punching, key facts from report, jurors hear – Never-before-heard audio made public on Day 4 of inquest into 2016 death https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/soleiman-faqiri-inquest-day-4-1.7037741 Related article: CBC News – Shanifa Nasser Jail official felt Faqiri didn’t meet bar for hospital, refused to watch video taken as he deteriorated – WARNING: This story contains graphic details and images https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/soleiman-faqiri-inquest-day-7-1.7042556
Toronto Star – Jacques Gallant
‘To what end?’ A Toronto judge’s frustration at prisons’ failure to rehabilitate serial offender
Ontario Court Justice André Chamberlain was sentencing a repeat offender Jayson Pothier to three years in prison when he called the point of the exercise into question: “Your record is a catalogue of the choices you made and I don’t absolve you of that,” Chamberlain said. “But it is also a catalogue of the failures of the community at large: a failure to address poverty and lack of supportive housing; a lack of treatment facilities and mental health supports that are culturally appropriate.” Pothier pleaded guilty and admitted being high on drugs while committing the offences. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/to-what-end-a-toronto-judge-s-frustration-at-prisons-failure-to-rehabilitate-serial-offender/article_394ed6f8-7f6d-5cfe-8378-bf9c0c78f145.amp.html#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17012628682885&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com Related article: The Conversation (Queen’s) Merissa Daborn Policing is not the answer to shoplifting, feeding people is https://theconversation.com/policing-is-not-the-answer-to-shoplifting-feeding-people-is-217046?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20November%2029%202023&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20November%2029%202023+CID_65d87803c2a9e50fc508830da7ad4dab&utm_source=campaign_monitor_ca&utm_term=Policing%20is%20not%20the%20answer%20to%20shoplifting%20feeding%20people%20is Related tweet from criminal defence lawyer Chris Rudnicki on the Judge’s frustration: “An open secret in the criminal legal system. Prison neither deters nor rehabilitates. In fact, it produces crime. Yet in many cases, it is the only tool we give judges to respond to harmful behaviour. No wonder they are fed up.” https://x.com/chrisrudnicki_/status/1729489243989332159?s=20
Tweet from Jeffrey Bradley on Ottawa Police budget: “Tonight the Ottawa Police Services board approved the $13.4 million dollar budget increase to the police budget. I was the only critical person to delegate and call for defunding because the chair did not approve the wording of others (almost identical to mine). Shameful!!” https://x.com/Jeffrey_Brad/status/1729356493089021966?s=20 (First of 3 texts on police budget expansion)
CBC News – Kyla Hounsell
N.S. veteran receives critical injury benefit after trauma from alleged military sex assault
In what appears to be a first in the morass that sexual assault in the military has become, Zandra Pinette, 43, a former Canadian Forces member has had a decision by the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB) recognize the sexual assault as a critical injury (PTSD) and grant a lump sum payment of $84, 203. “ The critical injury benefit is given to members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have experienced a severe and traumatic service-related injury as a result of a sudden, single incident on or after April 1, 2006, that has caused a severe impairment to their quality of life. “ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/critical-injury-benefit-military-sexual-trauma-1.7041663?cmp=newsletter_CBC%20News%20Morning%20Brief_10393_1311192
Blogger Russell Webster (UK)
Serious concerns about health care for women in prison
Established in 2021, National Women’s Prisons Health and Social Care Review has identified eight concerns around the health care provided to women in prison. “As most readers already know, women in prison have disproportionately higher levels of health and social care needs than their male counterparts in prison and women in the general population. High numbers of women in prison experience poor physical and mental health and many are living with trauma. Findings from this Review further highlight the vulnerability and adverse life experiences of many women in prison. Mothers feel keenly the separation from their children that imprisonment brings, and women who are mentally unwell are still being sent to prison. The report acknowledges that none of this is new and that women (who make up only 4% of the prison population) can sometimes be overlooked in a majority male estate… The review has prioritised the lived experiences of women in prison and the report is informed by 2,250 responses from women inside.” https://www.russellwebster.com/serious-concerns-about-health-and-social-care-for-women-in-prison/ (Includes graphics of the points made and a series of related posts.)
Globe and Mail Amplify – Pamela Cross
Ontario should declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, inquest jury says
“The numbers in Canada are staggering. One woman is killed by an intimate or former intimate partner every six days. Almost half – 44 per cent – of Canadian women report having been subjected to some form of IPV and are disproportionately the victims of the most severe forms of abuse. Approximately 3,500 women and 2,700 children live in shelters for abused women every night of the year, while more are turned away because there is no room.” (Emphasis original) Article in Globe and Mail – Molly Hayes (Dated June 28, 2022 and updated by the Amplify article). https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-intimate-partner-violence-should-be-declared-epidemic-by-ontario/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Amplify&utm_content=2023-11-25_9&utm_term=Amplify%3A%20Why%20we%20must%20declare%20intimate%20partner%20violence%20an%20epidemic&utm_campaign=newsletter&cu_id=pARaxHa5z449Fu5kr3Vu1zqsV1%2FQ8Cxe (Ed note: Amplify is available by enrollment and cannot be linked.)