Destroying Trust
The obscenity of a young woman incarcerated as punishment for acting out in a way that really harmed no one, and then extending her prison stays indefinitely, sending her from one prison to another, until in her despair she committed suicide, reflects horribly on this country. That kind of punishment and justice is beyond incredible.
The nightmare of a young woman in desperate psychological distress being forcibly held in isolation for long periods of time would unhinge anyone.
Some triumph of justice for a civilized, democratic country that offers universal medical treatment for its citizens, and guarantees of self-actualization, and protection of individual rights and freedoms under our vaunted Constitution.
Ashley Smith tried time and again to commit suicide because she had nothing to live for, and everything to die for. Her life was an ongoing torment; and she sought to end it. Instead of the care and comfort she needed, she was constrained, restrained and despised.
Considered a trouble-maker, no one seemed to care about her welfare. And now, the warden of the Grand Valley Institution where she died after successfully managing finally to strangle herself while her guards watched through a video connection, is testifying on behalf of his prison staff, that it is their right to privacy that will be invaded if the videos are exposed.
The prison staff feel that they behaved professionally in response to the situation they experienced time and again with this desperate young woman whose pleas for help were never addressed. They were simply doing their job as they were instructed to do it, and have nothing to answer for.
The concern in this tragic event is not that the prison guards were committed to this 19-year-old's well being and somehow failed to support and protect her. The issue is their right to privacy. That, if the videos of the events that occurred were made public, their lives would be complicated.
They might be held by their community to account for their responses that did not address the need of this young woman. "My family and I are actively involved in our small community and a stigma such as this is not easily forgotten in a small community."
But if they insist they acted to the best of their ability in discharging their professional obligations as correction workers, what is their concern? The optics of a young woman, a girl really, kept in a segregated cell, attempting repeatedly to tie a ligature about her neck to end the nightmare of her existence would not play well.
On the other hand, it is not the guards alone that should be answerable to the memory of Ashley Smith and to her family and to the public for the heartless, uncompassionate and destructive manner in which she was held and her incarceration drawn out interminably, leaving her no hope.
It is those entrusted to interact with such incarcerants, the social workers, the wardens, the judges, the law fraternity.
This dreadful failure to address the true circumstances resulting in the waste of a young life is what should be focused on and the situation rectified so it can never again happen to anyone else. The theft of a CD, the pelting of a postie with crabapples can hardly be justified as reason for imprisonment and the unconscionable torture and waste of a young life.
That's the 'trust' that was destroyed.
The nightmare of a young woman in desperate psychological distress being forcibly held in isolation for long periods of time would unhinge anyone.
Some triumph of justice for a civilized, democratic country that offers universal medical treatment for its citizens, and guarantees of self-actualization, and protection of individual rights and freedoms under our vaunted Constitution.
Ashley Smith tried time and again to commit suicide because she had nothing to live for, and everything to die for. Her life was an ongoing torment; and she sought to end it. Instead of the care and comfort she needed, she was constrained, restrained and despised.
Considered a trouble-maker, no one seemed to care about her welfare. And now, the warden of the Grand Valley Institution where she died after successfully managing finally to strangle herself while her guards watched through a video connection, is testifying on behalf of his prison staff, that it is their right to privacy that will be invaded if the videos are exposed.
The prison staff feel that they behaved professionally in response to the situation they experienced time and again with this desperate young woman whose pleas for help were never addressed. They were simply doing their job as they were instructed to do it, and have nothing to answer for.
The concern in this tragic event is not that the prison guards were committed to this 19-year-old's well being and somehow failed to support and protect her. The issue is their right to privacy. That, if the videos of the events that occurred were made public, their lives would be complicated.
They might be held by their community to account for their responses that did not address the need of this young woman. "My family and I are actively involved in our small community and a stigma such as this is not easily forgotten in a small community."
But if they insist they acted to the best of their ability in discharging their professional obligations as correction workers, what is their concern? The optics of a young woman, a girl really, kept in a segregated cell, attempting repeatedly to tie a ligature about her neck to end the nightmare of her existence would not play well.
On the other hand, it is not the guards alone that should be answerable to the memory of Ashley Smith and to her family and to the public for the heartless, uncompassionate and destructive manner in which she was held and her incarceration drawn out interminably, leaving her no hope.
It is those entrusted to interact with such incarcerants, the social workers, the wardens, the judges, the law fraternity.
This dreadful failure to address the true circumstances resulting in the waste of a young life is what should be focused on and the situation rectified so it can never again happen to anyone else. The theft of a CD, the pelting of a postie with crabapples can hardly be justified as reason for imprisonment and the unconscionable torture and waste of a young life.
That's the 'trust' that was destroyed.
Labels: Canada, Crisis Politics, Culture
posted by Pieface | 7:31 PM
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