Pubdate: Wed, 06 Jan 2016
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2016 The StarPhoenix
Contact:  http://thestarphoenix.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Page: A5

REPORT ALL JAIL DEATHS

The sudden death of Shauna Wolf on Dec. 27 while she was being held on
remand at the Pine Grove Correctional Centre raises some troubling
questions, starting with the fact that provincial policy still doesn't
require justice officials to publicly disclose every such death as
soon as practicable.

Surely, there's nothing a government in a democratic society does on
our behalf that's more serious or sensitive than to deprive people of
their freedom. Whenever someone who is taken into custody then dies
while in lock-up, the death should become public information as soon
as the person's family is notified.

Prompt disclosure of deaths in custody can ensure a high level of
accountability required to maintain public confidence in a justice
system where we can be confident that people aren't simply
"disappearing."

It's not good enough for Saskatchewan's Justice Ministry to suggest
that it doesn't issue news releases about in-custody deaths unless
staff suspect foul play, or there is some threat to public safety.
Whether it's through natural causes, accident, suicide or homicide,
it's imperative that all such deaths are reported.

The ministry has said in the past that timely disclosure isn't a
concern because there eventually will be a coroner's inquest into each
death. But that process moves at a snail's pace, and can often take
several months or even years.

For the family of Wolf, who had been complaining to her father, Bill
Faulkner, that she wasn't being provided with medical help for severe
heroin withdrawal symptoms, and whose cause of death wasn't determined
in an autopsy performed two days later, having to wait four to six
months for a final report isn't tolerable. And it should not be
tolerated by the public, either.

Wolf was being held on remand facing charges related to drug and
weapons offences, and hadn't been convicted of any crime. Yet, as Mr.
Faulkner told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, staff at the jail didn't get
her the medical help she wanted because she thought she was getting
sicker from withdrawal.

If, as a ministry spokesperson explained, the standard procedure is
for all inmates to be assessed by a jail nurse within 24 hours of
admission and someone in drug withdrawal taken to hospital if needed,
what happened in this case? If corrections staff are obligated to
notify the nurse if an inmate complains of severe withdrawal, did
Wolf's case somehow fall through the cracks during the holiday season,
perhaps because staffing levels may have been lower?

There are plenty of questions in this death, which the ministry didn't
deem worthy of a news release.
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MAP posted-by: Matt