Probe into teen’s cell death resumes amid legal battles over scope, videos

TORONTO – The inquest into the prison death of Ashley Smith five years ago resumes today for two days of legal fighting.

At issue is the scope of the inquest and whether the public can see cell surveillance videos of the mentally disturbed inmate.

The wrangling is threatening to derail the inquest, which was scheduled to begin hearing evidence in January.

Several doctors and federal corrections authorities argue the probe should only look at Smith’s treatment in Ontario.

Smith’s family agrees with the presiding coroner that examining her treatment in other provinces is essential.

The 19-year-old Smith choked to death in her cell in Kitchener, Ont., after repeated episodes of self-harm.

She had spent her final year in solitary confinement. She was shunted 17 times among nine different prisons in five provinces with little treatment for her mental illness.

The videos Ottawa wants sealed show Smith being physically restrained for hours at a time. At one point, she was strapped to a gurney in a wet security gown for hours, records show.

The videos also show staff at the Joliette Institution in Montreal giving Smith intravenous drugs without her consent. On one occasion, guards in riot gear surrounded the handcuffed Smith as she was injected.

Kim Pate, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, has called the videos she saw “shocking and disturbing.”

Last month, Carlisle said it was essential to delve into how authorities dealt with Smith, including during her stays in prisons outside Ontario.

To that end, Carlisle was set to subpoena three out-of-province psychiatrists who treated her _ Jeffrey Penn, of Truro, N.S., Renee Fugere, of Montreal, and Olajide Adelugba, of Saskatoon — until three Ontario doctors backed by Correctional Service Canada balked.

Julian Falconer, who speaks for Smith’s family, blasted the government’s position as a “state coverup.”

“If Correctional Services has its way, we will simply never get to the key questions, because they will have cut us off at the pass,” Falconer said Monday.

The inquest under Carlisle is the second one into Smith’s death. The first was aborted last year when the presiding coroner, Dr. Bonita Porter, announced her retirement after months of acrimonious legal battles.