Advocates issue a call to action as part of Prisoner's Justice Day
It was a moving moment outside the Sudbury Jail on Wednesday morning as advocates gathered to commemorate this year's Prisoner's Justice Day.
The day has been held on Aug. 10 every year since 1975, to remember Eddie Nalon, who bled to death in a cell at the Millhaven Penitentiary.
"Prisoners' Justice Day is a very important day for us to commemorate and remember those who have died unnatural deaths while in custody," said Sara Berghammer of the John Howard Society of Sudbury.
"It's important to remember them so that their memory lives on. It's also an opportunity for us to raise awareness about some of the issues people are facing."
Berghammer said post-pandemic, inmates are dealing with soaring rates of substance abuse, mental health challenges and lockdowns.
"If we're speaking specifically about the pandemic, we've had difficulties gaining access to the jail to offer programs and services like our library program or our jail visitation program, which further isolates the people inside," she said.
"It's one of the reasons why we push for alternative programming and that custody be a last resort."
One of the speakers was Cory Roslyn of the Elizabeth Fry Society. She mentioned Delilah Blair, a 30-year-old Indigenous woman who died while in custody in Windsor while waiting for supports.
Roslyn said what happened to Blair was unjust and unacceptable.
"I've been involved in the inquest into Delilah's death over the last five years," she said.
"Since she died, seeing what she went through, what she experienced, I think is pretty typical of how our system works and (how) our system treats people who have mental illness and addictions who are incarcerated."
The day is a way to "bring light to the issues," she said, as well as honour Blair.
"There's always a little bit of fear of the unknowns and I think it's easy for people to look at prisons and incarceration as a way of keeping their community safe and really what we're doing is creating harm to members of our community," Roslyn added.
Caitlin Germond, of the Canadian Mental Health Association, talked about the need to focus on mental health.
"It's an opportunity for us to pause and reflect and take that moment to remember individuals who have died of unnatural or violent deaths while in custody," Germond said.
"Individuals in custody, we see mental health issues are four to seven times more common for those in custody compared to everyone else."
Aurora Stone, Reseau Access Network's peer-engagement coordinator, can speak from both professional and personal experience.
She was incarcerated for a time at a Hamilton-area jail for a crime she said she did not commit.
"It's very important to me," Stone said.
"I didn't have anyone to post bail for me. I had no family that could help me get out of the situation, so I know what it's like to be stuck in this emotional, spiritual and mental torture."
Stone said many people need access to harm-reduction services, considering the hard lives most people living with addiction have had to deal with.
"Maybe the first time you use substances it's a choice, but after the first time it's no longer a choice," she said.
She described life in prison as a place where "you can hear the rats crawling in the ceiling and vents. There are cockroaches as big as your finger."
If you make someone angry, you're sleeping on a concrete slab in a paper dress," Stone said.
"When you go into jail, if you're not already in a treatment program, they're going to let you suffer for sure. So we need harm reduction services."
According to the John Howard Society of Sudbury, 53 prisoners died in federal institutions during the 2020/2021 fiscal year, and 30 per cent of those deaths were deemed unnatural.
About 50 per cent of all deaths in Ontario correctional facilities between 2000 and 2015 were of unnatural causes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.