Inquest told drugs rampant in Barton jail
William Acheson’s death was “a horrifying experience” that still haunts one of his former cellmates who witnessed the 42year-old snort heroin and then found him dead the next morning.
Acheson, who went by Bill, had been in the same unit (5B Right) as Kenneth Albert for several months and they shared the same cell for about a week before Acheson’s Sept. 12, 2012 death, Albert told the inquest into eight deaths at the Hamilton Wentworth Detention Centre.
Acheson was a “quiet, straight guy” who would often share a joint with him, but wasn’t into harder drugs, Albert testified Friday. He offered condolences to Acheson’s parents, who sat listening and then shook his hand as he left.
Albert’s candid testimony touched on everything from the availability of drugs in the jail, to how inmates live like “caged like animals,” which he said perpetuates drug use.
“There were times there were drugs in jail, but not on the street,” he said, later adding many guys want to stay high to pass the time.
At that time, there was a labour dispute at the Barton Street jail that saw correctional officers refusing to work over safety concerns. Instead, shifts were filled by managers and volunteers from other institutions. Albert said often two hours would go by between seeing anyone and inmates were spending the majority of their days locked in their cells.
“Things were out of control,” Albert said.
The five-week labour dispute ended the day of Acheson’s death.
The day before a new inmate, identified as M.B., arrived on the range.
“We believe (M.B.) was the source of the drugs,” Hamilton police homicide unit Staff Sgt. Dave Oleniuk, who investigated Acheson’s death, told the inquest.
A cap from a suction device jail staff used to try to clear Acheson’s throat of vomit during CPR was later found stuck in his throat, but autopsy results showed that was not a factor in his death. The cap “cannot be ignored,” but Acheson died from an accidental heroin overdose, Oleniuk said.
On the day M.B. arrived, one of his cellmates, identified as K.D. overdosed and was taken to hospital. Drug use was so rampant that Albert testified there were inmates snorting heroin off their windowsills while paramedics and police were attending to K.D.
According to K.D.’s police interview, read by Oleniuk, he said he got the heroin from M.B. Once it kicked in, he couldn’t lift his head and the next thing he remembers is waking up in hospital. M.B. was then moved into Acheson and Albert’s cell.
Albert said they all shared a joint and then M.B. pulled out heroin from his rectum and put out three small lines of the drug. Acheson snorted one, but Albert refused, he said, so M.B. snorted the other two. The heroin was divided up and Albert said he hid some in his rectum. He believes it must have leaked because he woke up feeling very ill. He was confused because Acheson was supposed to be on the top bunk, but instead M.B. was sleeping there and Acheson was on the floor unresponsive. He said he tried to bang for help, but was disoriented and kept falling asleep.
The inquest previously heard Acheson was discovered as staff prepared to hand out breakfast the morning of Sept. 12. Albert was initially moved to another cell, where he said he got rid of the heroin, but then he collapsed and went to hospital.
M.B. also went to hospital, where he was interviewed by police and tried to point the finger at someone else for the drugs, but Oleniuk said he believes M.B. was just trying to deflect.
The inquest also saw a nine-minute and 14-second video that showed incidents of “fishing” on Acheson’s unit on the day before and the day of his death.
In the video, inmates’ hands can be seen through the hatches where their lunches are delivered. They throw a weighted string, made from torn blankets with the pieces of string tied together and typically weighted with a toothpaste tube. The “fish line” is thrown back and forth and inmates move product by dragging it under their cell doors.