ANOTHER INMATE DIES, BUT WHY?
Distraught family calls for inquest
The family of a Windsor Jail inmate who died within days of being rushed to hospital after collapsing in his cell last month is demanding an inquest into their son’s death, the second such tragedy at the facility in less than a month.
Speaking for the family of Jonathan Dew, 26, London lawyer Andrew Murray said he has sent a letter to the provincial coroner’s office asking that an inquiry be held to determine the circumstances surrounding the death.
He said Dew’s family wants answers why their son was apparently allowed to languish in his cell despite being described as too ill to meet with his lawyer before being rushed to hospital.
Windsor police responded to a call from the jail at about 5:50 p.m. on Sept. 12, reporting that an inmate was sick or injured and had “suddenly collapsed” in his cell, where he was the sole occupant. The police report showed the man was transported to Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital by ambulance where he was admitted in critical condition.
A police investigation revealed there was no criminal activity involved in the prisoner’s collapse and the matter was never followed up.
But Dew’s mother, Kerri Harris, said her son was suffering from a collapsed lung and, after being admitted to hospital, went into cardiac arrest and slipped into a coma.
He was without visible life signs for about a half-hour, she added, and sustained “significant brain damage.” He was subsequently put on life support.
The family, which lives in St. Thomas, had their son transferred to a London hospital. He died Sept. 21.
She said he had been arrested while riding his bike four days prior to his collapse and believes he became ill only after he was taken into custody and detained at the jail, awaiting a court appearance on a “minor probation infraction.”
“This is inconceivable,” said Harris. “We’re upset and angry. Why weren’t they taking care of him on their watch? Why did they leave him there? That’s the million-dollar question.”
She said Dew was seriously dehydrated when taken to hospital.
Murray said preliminary inquires showed that Dew had been vomiting and had a severe case of diarrhea while in the jail, possibly for several days.
“He was taken to hospital in very, very bad shape,” said Murray. “He was badly dehydrated. That doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a while.... There are a lot of unanswered questions I hope the family can get answers to.”
He said an inquest would have the power to obtain all the records from the institution and should be able to determine what condition Dew was in when taken into custody, how and when he may have got sick, what treatment there may or may not have been and why, despite his rapid decline, the family was not notified of his condition until he collapsed.
“The family was not notified until he was taken to hospital,” he said. “They said he was sick and to get down to the hospital right away. There was no information prior to that.”
Murray said Dew’s Windsor criminal lawyer, Christina Sweet, had tried to meet with him but was told by jail authorities that he was too sick. Sweet declined to talk about the case when contacted Thursday.
Murray said Dew, who had substance abuse problem, had been taken into custody days before on a minor probation violation charge after missing a meeting with his probation officer.
Murray said it was inconceivable that someone could be as sick as Dew apparently was and not get treatment.
“If you were sick on the street you could get help,” he said. “You would think you should be better off in an institution where you were being supervised and cared for. At this point I’d like to see the documents to shed some light into the dark corners of this story.... Maybe he was attended to hourly and taken care of. Maybe there’s a need for more medical supervision. Right now we don’t know. Right now we have no answers and that is a cause of concern.”
Brent Ross, spokesman for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, confirmed Thursday that an inmate fell ill at the jail on Sept. 12 and was transferred to hospital. The inmate died Sept. 21.
“It would be inappropriate to discuss the details of the death further given the ongoing coroner’s investigation,” Ross said.
On Monday, Kendra Blackbird died in hospital after being taken from the jail following an apparent drug overdose. She had been found unresponsive in her cell. She was awaiting sentencing on a stabbing charge.
Murray said that he was awaiting the findings of an autopsy on Dew’s body.
Jennifer Kerr, a spokesman for the Ontario chief coroner’s office, said it is mandatory to hold an investigation into the death of someone in custody. But an inquest is not required if an autopsy determines the cause of death was from natural causes.