Lawsuit over ‘solitary’ in jails certified as a class action
A lawsuit alleging the Ontario government violated the rights of inmates by placing them inappropriately in solitary confinement can proceed as a class action, a Superior Court judge has ruled.
The province did not oppose certification of the $600-million action whose representative plaintiff maintains his already fragile mental health was exacerbated by stints in segregation.
The suit includes inmates diagnosed with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or psychosis who served time in segregation in provincial facilities since Jan. 1, 2009.
Other inmates put in the “hole” for 15 days or longer since that time are also included in the class.
“Every day, prisoners in Ontario’s correctional institutions are subjected to conditions of torture, and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment,” the suit alleges in its amended statement of claim.
“Segregation, or ‘solitary confinement’ as it is more commonly known, is grossly overused on a systemic basis throughout Ontario’s correctional system.”
At issue is administrative segregation in which inmates are isolated either to ensure their own safety or that of others in the institution.
Critics allege such isolation in which inmates are kept in tiny cells without human contact for much of the day can cause significant and lasting harm.
The current lawsuit, similar to several others filed in Canada including one already certified against the federal government, alleges the provincial government has been negligent in its use of isolation by leaving prisoners for weeks, months or even years without regard to the consequences.
“The effects of segregation are significant and substantial,” the statement of claim alleges.
“Such damage is often irreversible and will have a substantial and lasting effect on that person’s life.”
The representative plaintiff, Conrey Francis, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffers extreme panic attacks, has spent several stints behind bars since 1982, including stretches in solitary confinement, the suit says.
In his latest incarceration, Francis, in his early 50s, spent time at the Toronto South Detention Centre from January 2015 until he was acquitted of robbery charges in April 2017.
His mental health in “solitary” worsened to the point that he had suicidal thoughts and auditory hallucinations, he alleged.
The lawsuit was initially filed last year on the same day Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé slammed the province’s use of “solitary,” particularly with regard to those inmates who are mentally ill.
In January, the Ontario government and province’s human rights authorities announced an agreement to stop placing mentally compromised inmates in “solitary” barring exceptional circumstances.
The province, which has yet to file a statement of defence, had no comment on the certification decision but said Wednesday it would defend against the claim, which has yet to be tested in court.