"The inquest was supposed to resume earlier this month under Carlisle but it abruptly halted to hear the motion — which argued the inquest should be officially restarted and recall all evidence heard during the first three days of the proceedings.
To just resume would force the process to continue on "jurisdictional shaky ground, " the family's lawyer, Julian Falconer, said this month.
Also at issue in the motion are three rulings which were not delivered by Porter prior to her departure.
She was supposed to decide whether:
• Quebec videos showing the 19-year-old being drugged and restrained during a prison transfer be shown to a jury;
• Whether the faces of prison guards should be blurred in videos entered into evidence; and
• Whether lawyers are susceptible to a contempt charge if they share evidence with the public."
POSTMEDIA NEWS;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND: Ashley Smith, 19, died in her prison cell at Grand Valley Institution near Kitchener, Ont., in October 2007 from self-strangulation. She had been transferred between federal institutions 17 times during her final 11 months, most of that time kept in segregation and often on suicide watch dressed in a highly restrictive gown. Jailed at age 13 for a crab apple-throwing incident in New Brunswick, Smith was eventually transferred to an adult facility after she kept getting into trouble behind bars by constantly kicking, grabbing and spitting at guards. Lawyer's for her family and the media had successfully attacked then presiding Coroner Dr. Bonita Porter's efforts to limit the scope and evidence to be called at the inquest. Dr. John Carlisle, who had been appointed by Chief Coroner Dr. Andrew McCallum to take over the inquest, has ordered a new inquest to proceed before a new jury. The inquest is of interest to this Blog because it relates to the openness of public death investigations - and the necessity to ensure that deaths warranting inquests get full scrutiny.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ontario coroner Dr. John Carlisle has shut down the inquest into the prison death of New Brunswick teenager Ashley Smith, and ordered a new one started," the Postmedia story published earlier today under the heading "Ashley Smith media to begin again," begins.
"The ruling was sparked by a motion filed by the Smith family last month," the story continues.
"It argued Carlisle — who in June replaced Dr. Bonita Porter — should hear arguments in three legal challenges that were heard by Porter when the inquest began.
"I find that, while some time may be lost in starting a new inquest, it is not likely to be more than would be lost by attempting to carry on the old and may indeed be less," Carlisle wrote in his ruling, which was released Friday.
Smith was found dead in a segregated prison cell at the Grand Valley Institute in Kitchener, Ont., in October 2007. Prison guards watching over her were instructed not to intervene until she stopped breathing.
The controversial proceedings began last May under Porter and have often been delayed due to jurisdictional and legal challenges.
The inquest was supposed to resume earlier this month under Carlisle but it abruptly halted to hear the motion — which argued the inquest should be officially restarted and recall all evidence heard during the first three days of the proceedings.
To just resume would force the process to continue on "jurisdictional shaky ground, " the family's lawyer, Julian Falconer, said this month.
Also at issue in the motion are three rulings which were not delivered by Porter prior to her departure.
She was supposed to decide whether:
• Quebec videos showing the 19-year-old being drugged and restrained during a prison transfer be shown to a jury;
• Whether the faces of prison guards should be blurred in videos entered into evidence; and
• Whether lawyers are susceptible to a contempt charge if they share evidence with the public.
The inquest was set to examine the last 11 months of Smith's life, when she was transferred to 17 different federal facilities across the country due to bad behaviour, overcrowding and staff fatigue.
Smith was first incarcerated at age 15 for throwing crab apples at a postal worker. She remained behind bars after racking up hundreds of in-custody charges and spent almost all her time incarcerated in isolation until her death."
----------------------------------------------------------
The story can be found at:
http://www.canada.com/Ashley+Smith+inquest+begin+anew/5483175/story.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
