The average life expectancy for Canadians is the same for males as for females. Nearly two-thirds of individuals who die due to natural causes during federal detention are younger than the age of 65.
A second fact that is not often known is that the concerns of the staff and the prisoners are frequently interspersed. Highly infectious diseases make no distinctions when it is spread through an in-house facility for congregate living.
The COVID-19 outbreak has brought jurisdictions around the globe to release whole categories of prisoners to safeguard all those who work and live in jail. According to UCLA Law professor Sharon Dolovich, the state of affairs within areas in the United States with longstanding imprisonment addictions has witnessed “conscientious officials rediscovering decarceral powers they had forgotten they had.” But, there are instances of violence at Rikers Island, New York, and Chicago’s Cook County jail, which are massive in their magnitude.
Reduced jail population
Ontario swiftly reduced its prison population. From March 16 to April 9, numbers fell from 8,344 to 6,025. Around 70 percent of Ontario prisoners were in the process of waiting for trial, which means that large reductions could be made through the processing of bail applications. Lawyers for defense, prosecution lawyers, and judges have generally cooperated in the establishment of procedures and making decisions to combat the epidemic.
On April 8, the Ontario Court of Appeal granted bail on an appeal filed by a defendant who was convicted of multiple counts in an elaborate fraud scheme and was waiting for the outcome of an appeal. The court relied on public health authorities to support the case of social isolation “is not only a question of protecting a given individual but also the community at large.” A case of infection could lead to a wider social spread once prison staff return to their homes. The more widespread the outbreak, “the greater the pressure will be for scarce medical resources.” The judge noted that the person who applied was aged 64 and had an underlying health issue and found that his arrest was not for the public good.
It’s a fact that the needs of imprisoned people are firmly tied to those of us who are at liberty in our communities. The epidemic has changed a lot about the normal way of life and the ability to deny these bonds.
Yet Federal prisons in Canada were slow in implementing changes. On March 31, the Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair said he instructed his Parole Board as well as the Correctional Service to consider measures to allow early release. At the time of mid-April, very little was happening, despite the fact that 170 federal prisoners were positive for the disease, as well as a number of staff.
A 53-year-old prisoner imprisoned in the Bath Institution in eastern Ontario was granted a non-scored, temporary absence due to medical reasons. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
The Queen’s Prison Law Clinic swiftly shifted its focus to push for an even more aggressive federal response. The only one of two clinics specifically designed for prisons in Canada, The small staff of the legal aid office located in Kingston, Ont., offers hands-on instruction for Queen’s University law students while providing legal aid to federal prisoners in the eastern region of Ontario.
Inmates’ families are worried.
At the end of March, the clinic was getting urgent calls from prisoners as well as their family members, who were all concerned about the pre-existing ailments that suggested that contracting this disease could result in death. Derrick Snow’s case Derrick Snow, a 53-year-old man with a long but non-violent criminal history, rapidly rose the list.
Snow’s case was focused on his use of drugs. He has diabetes, cancer, and chronic obstructive lung disease. Additionally, he had a rapidly approaching deadline for his statutory release of July 2020 for his most recent theft-related offense. Snow’s sister was willing to assist him in self-isolating his basement apartment.
From early April onwards, Paul Quick, a lawyer from the Queen’s Prison Law Clinic, kept in close contact in close contact with Bath Institution, working to find legal options that could help facilitate a life-saving change to Snow’s release date in July.
The limited responses by the authorities were focused on technical issues and didn’t take into account the radical changes in the pandemic environment. The warden was unable to reach an official decision before the scheduled deadline of April 10.
Lawyers working in legal aid environments shouldn’t decide in a hurry. The resources are limited, and the chance of losing a case — and setting a bad precedent that could have an impact that lasts for years on other people -is a serious consideration. Lawyers are rarely on their own. Lawyers from prisons across the nation have offered suggestions and advice, and the clinic collaborated with an outside lawyer, Paul Champ, a prominent human rights lawyer who has many years of experience in civil liberties.
The prisoner is released on the eve of the hearing.
A hearing on an emergency was set for April 17. Champ demanded a mandatory injunction directing the warden to allow Snow an uninvited temporary absence for medical reasons. However, he was given only a few days to decide and was at home just like the rest of us, Champ prepared a file which was longer than 400 pages. It contained detailed medical evidence, pandemic response policies in other countries, and a plethora of correspondence detailing Quick’s efforts to convince the hospital to take action without bringing a suit.