Tamara Frances Lucier was awaiting treatment at a psychiatric facility before facing charges, but in the meantime she was being held at the Southwest Detention Center in Windsor, Ontario.
He died on December 28 in jail.
Now, her family and inmate advocates want to know how and why she ended up incarcerated even though she was never convicted of a crime, and a court psychiatrist found she needed treatment for a mental health issue before facing the system. legal.
“I lost my daughter, and here today I still haven’t received a response, not an apology from the Southwest Detention Center,” Wilfred Lucier said.
“Not having an answer for what happened to my little girl is heartbreaking. I can’t even describe it to you.”
Officials from the Ontario Attorney General’s Ministry confirmed with CBC that several investigations are underway in relation to the death of an inmate that night. A ministry spokesperson confirmed a The inmate housed in the infirmary was found to be in medical danger. on December 28, and he was transported to the hospital and later pronounced dead. They did not name Tamara as the inmate in question.
CBC gave the spokesperson a list of questions, but only responded that “it is not appropriate for the ministry to comment further publicly on this case as various investigations are under way.”
Lucier remembers her 31-year-old daughter as a kind and caring person who for years battled illnesses like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Her attorney, Paul Esco, said that while she was in the middle of a plea deal on a series of mostly minor charges against her, the judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation.
The family helped get her released on bail for a short time, with two bonds in December, but Tamara breached the conditions, was arrested again and returned to jail just before Christmas.
The doctor’s evaluation dated December 9 determined that Tamara was not suitable for trial and it was recommended that she be treated in a psychiatric center for 60 days to improve her condition and face the charges.
However, according to Esco and Wilfred Lucier, there were no long-term beds available until January or February, so the court decided that he would remain in custody in the meantime.
“She was not sentenced to be in jail,” Esco explained. “She could not be released when she was declared unfit.”
The psychiatric evaluation suggested that Tamara be evaluated at the Southwest Center for Forensic Mental Health Care in St. Thomas, Ontario.
A representative from the center confirmed to CBC in an email that in December, the center had reduced capacity due to the impact of COVID-19 on staffing levels, resulting in a “longer than usual” waiting list.
It has 86 specialized hospital beds, including 16 evaluation beds. Eight people were on the waiting list in mid-December and it was reduced to two as of January 11.
“All Ontario courts have access to the provincial registry of forensic beds, which allows them to identify the location of available beds in the province,” wrote the representative of the center. “When there is a waiting list, first priority is given to people who have a court order for treatment, as the treatment needs of these people are often significant and require timely care.”
‘I got hysterical’
Wilfred doesn’t know much about his daughter’s passing, except that a doctor told him that she died the night of December 28 of cardiac arrest.
“I was hysterical to hear that my daughter was gone when she should have been safe. She should have been safe. It’s sad. So what happens in prisons?
“The system sucks. It has failed. It has failed so many people who have mental health problems. When will the system find out about that?”
Wilfred said he called the jail to get more information about Tamara’s death, but they didn’t tell him much more, even though he has a power of attorney.
Esco said the Southwest Detention Center “is not releasing any information at this time.”
CBC contacted the superintendent of the center, but has not received a response.
I couldn’t get it out, no beds
Esco said Tamara was trapped in the court system due to a growing number of infractions.
The charges included assault and assault with a weapon (a door), two counts of mischief and at least eight infractions, Esco said.
“She is not a violent person. She was a very small person. She was not physically dangerous,” he said.
Most of the mischief and non-compliance charges were related to visiting a boyfriend while living with a father who had prohibited Tamara from entering the home, Esco said. After each release, Tamara would return home and face another arrest, he added.
Since the plea bargain was still ongoing when the psychiatric evaluation was completed, Tamara was never convicted of any of the charges, Esco said.
The lawyer said this is the first time that one of his clients has faced a circumstance like this in which he had to remain in custody while waiting for a bed in a mental health facility.
“It’s a horrible situation. I haven’t been able to sleep myself,” he said.
“It’s sad, and I just can’t understand … how she got caught up in the custody system, but that’s how it all played out.”
He explained that a great challenge is that there are systemic problems that go against young people with mental health problems. He explained that they do not fit into traditional sentencing structures.
Mental health is not a criminal problem, says one advocate
For Kelly Potvin, CEO of Elizabeth Fry Toronto, an organization that supports women in conflict with the law, Tamara’s case is troubling.
Kelly Potvin says she believes Tamara Lucier’s human rights were violated. 1:36
“My first impression is that their human rights were violated,” he said, adding that this is the first time he has heard of someone incarcerated while waiting for a psychiatric bed.
“She needed attention, that was obvious. He received no attention and died, ”he said.
“Mental health is a health problem, it is not a criminal problem. And if someone really was not in a position to be tried, they needed medical intervention, and not a cell or a prison bed.”
She said that even if you were in the detention center infirmary, as the statement from the Attorney General’s Ministry said, it is not where you would like to be if you have a mental health problem.
“Prison wards are not designed to handle major mental illnesses at all. They are not designed to handle any major health problems.”
Potvin said there have been other cases of prisoners with mental health problems dying while incarcerated. Delilah Blair, for example, committed suicide at the Southwest Detention Center in 2017.
“I think we are doing great harm to people with mental health problems by incarcerating them because we are only going to increase their illness.”
In Tamara’s case, Potvin hopes there will be a forensic investigation. A death while in custody automatically triggers an investigation by the Ontario Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, unless the person died of natural causes. A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Ministry confirmed that the coroner’s office is investigating.
Tamara’s sister, Kaitlyn Soulliere, 17, is also mourning her death.
“I was very close to her. It was fun hanging out with her, she laughed a lot.”
For her father, who is battling cancer, losing the oldest of his four children is unfathomable.
Tamara turned 31 while in custody: the first birthday and the first Christmas away from her father.
“It’s difficult,” he said.
The family says they are also struggling to fund a proper goodbye for Tamara, so they created a crowdfunding page.
Wilfred wants higher and municipal levels of government to invest in more resources to help vulnerable people like Tamara.
Meanwhile, the family and Esco are considering suing the detention center.
“I wouldn’t even speak this way if I’d had answers up front,” Wilfred said.
