B.C. coroner’s jury calls for limits on time spent by inmates in segregation

BURNABY, B.C. – A coroner’s jury looking into the suicide of an inmate at the medium-security Matsqui Institution in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley has made 25 recommendations aimed at saving lives.

Christopher Roy died in June last year at Abbotsford Hospital after hanging himself at the prison.

The jury heard over a four-day inquest that Roy had a history of mental illness, of hurting himself and of time spent in segregation.

Two of the recommendations call on the federal government to adopt the United Nations guidelines on solitary confinement and to limit how much time a person spends in isolation, especially if an inmate is known to have a mental illness.

Other recommendations include hiring extra staff, more frequent cell checks, appointing a full-time nurse for segregated inmates and requiring that prisoners get outside everyday.

The recommendations are not binding on the government.

(Roundhouse Radio)