WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
The inquest into the death of Delilah Blair in Windsor, Ont., heard on Wednesday from a prison conditions expert who said care plans are critical, especially for inmates in the mental health unit.
Kelly Hannah-Moffat testified Wednesday before a coroner’s jury examining the May 2017 death of Blair, a woman of indigenous descent believed to have been found lifeless in her cell and later pronounced dead at hospital. Earlier in the investigation, two correctional officers at the Southwest Detention Center (SWDC) who were responsible for Blair’s care testified that they were unaware of a document instructing staff to monitor inmates for depression and anxiety.
Those documents are “absolutely critical” for people inside jail mental health units, said Hannah-Moffat, who has done research and consulting work on justice issues for both the Ontario and federal governments. .
He has also specifically investigated confinement conditions and prison reform.
In Blair’s case, her inmate care plan contained details on monitoring for signs of depression, anxiety, withdrawal and psychosis, the inquest reported.
While officials have already determined that Blair died by suicide, the coroner’s jury is tasked with investigating the circumstances of the death and making recommendations to prevent future deaths. An inquest can be called automatically when an inmate dies while in custody. Blair’s investigation began Monday after two years of delays due to the pandemic.
Blair, a 30-year-old mother of four who had lived in the Northwest Territories and Manitoba before coming to Windsor, was found in her cell on May 21, 2017. Blair had been charged with theft. She was awaiting sentencing on a guilty plea at the time of her death.
She had spent time in the jail’s women’s mental health unit, which is under the indirect supervision of officers who, at the time, checked on female inmates twice an hour.
The investigation was told that Blair was found in her locked cell with a sheet around her neck 22 minutes after she was last seen in the common area, as shown in security camera footage shown during the investigation. research.
During her testimony, Hannah-Moffat was shown photos of the men’s and women’s mental health cell blocks at SWDC.
She described that the male environment is more spacious and has more light and windows for inmates to see the outside world. Male inmates also have direct access to a basketball court.
Hannah-Moffat said the Windsor Jail’s women’s mental health unit appeared dirty, with no outside lighting or recreational activities.
“Awful place to keep someone who has mental health issues,” he testified.
“This is more like a segregation for me, in terms of what it looks like” and not like a “therapeutic space”.
Indigenous inmates face more challenges: expert
As an indigenous woman, Blair had a different set of needs and challenges while in jail, Hannah-Moffat said, noting that elders or indigenous medicine are difficult to access.
“When you talk about indigenous women, it is much more difficult for them to be in solitude or segregation than it is for other people.”
Christa Big Canoe represents the Blair family in the investigation and is the legal director of Aboriginal Legal Services.
As was pointed out as evidence during the investigation, Big Canoe said the SWDC lacked indigenous support at the time of Blair’s death. For example, it did not have an indigenous inmate liaison officer, and there was no indigenous programming available in the women’s mental health unit or access to the elderly.
“Not having elders would be very problematic because I think at some point talking to an elder can really help a person. It can really ground a person,” said Hannah-Moffat.
“Not having access to that makes you feel more alone, isolated, more scared,” he added.
The two correctional officers and a social worker who testified earlier said they did not know Blair was indigenous.
The lack of meaningful contact can be detrimental, even more so for indigenous women, Hannah-Moffat said. Talking to a health professional through a prison door eating space is not meaningful contact, but rather “inhumane,” she gave as an example.
“Especially if you’re grounded with the community and nature. It’s just as problematic for them, if not worse,” said Hannah-Moffat.
The night Blair died, two other women were inside the same mental health unit.
You hear ‘screams and screams’
Krystal Warnock, a former inmate at SWDC, testified that she never spoke with Blair face-to-face because they were under a rotating unlock, where only one of the three inmates could be in the common area at a time.
The day before Blair died, Warnock recalled, Blair shared a poem she wrote about her son with her, slipping it under the locked cell.
The night Blair died, Warnock recalled hearing “screams and screams” from his cell with a guard. He guessed it was the TV remote control being taken from him.
Earlier testimony from correctional officer James Wright indicated that he heard Blair yelling or screaming while with her partner. He testified that the remote was returned. Security camera footage showed Blair bounding around the common area an hour before he was found in her cell.
Warnock testified that Blair “seemed fine” when he saw her, but added that he observed that Blair felt agitated and “must have had anxiety” and seemed more rowdy than usual.
“I was more hyperactive, more awake,” Warnock said.
Blair’s access to call mom is in question
Blair’s access to her mother’s phone has also been a key point of the investigation.
Warnock testified that there was a phone in the common area of the unit. However, to make a long distance call, a staff member must approve a request in writing and provide a separate phone number.
Selina McIntyre, who lives in Hay River, NWT, testified Tuesday that she hadn’t heard from her daughter for four or five weeks. It wasn’t until someone from the jail called to say she was dead that she learned that she Blair was incarcerated.
“He found security there. He trusted the system. He knew he had friends there. He wasn’t afraid of the system.”
The investigation is expected to last nine days.
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If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where you can get help:
This guide to Center for Addictions and Mental Health describes how to talk about suicide with someone you care about.
