Inquests to be held into deaths of 6 inmates linked to Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre

Inquests will be held for six men who died while in custody or after transfer to hospital from the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre.

On Monday, the Ontario government announced the hearings for the following individuals, with their dates of death:

• Igor Petrovic, 29, Nov. 28, 2017.
• Jason Archer, 30, Aug. 21, 2017.
• Christopher Sharp, 53, Sept. 7, 2018.
• Nathaniel Golden, 28, Jan. 5, 2019.
• Paul Debien, 34, March 21, 2019.
• Robert Soberal, 46, May 17, 2021.

Dr. Karen Schiff, regional supervising coroner for west region, Hamilton office, said in a news release that "inquests into their deaths are mandatory under the Coroners Act" and "the jury may make recommendations aimed at preventing further deaths."

The announcement comes days after Ontario's Ministry of the Solicitor General announced inquests for six people connected to the Niagara Detention Centre in Thorold.

Cedar Hopperton, who leads the Barton Prisoner Solidarity Project, said she felt "mostly grief" after hearing about the inquests.

"I feel like every one of those lives lost is just a huge blow to the community," Hopperton told CBC Hamilton.

Hopperton said she doesn't have a lot of faith in the system's ability to investigate itself and produce meaningful change. 

"I think what we've seen so far is a pattern of blaming prisoners for their own experiences when actually everybody who died in jail dies because of jail. So, I don't see a lot of the system actually taking responsibility. I see them just putting the responsibility back on prisoners."

While an inquest is mandatory if someone dies in custody or while being detained, except if it's determined the death was from natural causes, jurors are prohibited from making any finding of legal responsibility or expressing any conclusion of law.

The issue of overcrowding

Hopperton said even if the inquests show overdoses were the causes of death, she's worried "the role of overcrowding in the prisons" may be overlooked.

"All the prisons in southern Ontario right now are grievously overcrowded — three people in cells that were in many cases built for one person," she said.

She also pointed to the "extensive use of solitary confinement," with Hamilton have the highest numbers of any jail in the province. CBC Hamilton reported on the use of segregation earlier this year. 

"I think it's important to point out that these conditions are deadly," Hopperton said. "This is not a problem with drugs getting into the jail. This is not a problem that's going to be solved by more body scanners. It's not going to be solved by more searches. It's going to be solved by getting people out of the prison system because the system is killing people. It's not the drugs."

'He was sick and should have seen a doctor'

Soberal's sister, Daniella Soberal, said he was very close to his family.

"We all loved him and miss him so much, and really just don't understand how this could have happened," she said.

According to Soberal, her brother was at the centre for less than 24 hours when he became "extremely ill."

She said her brother "was showing symptoms of COVID" and was placed in a cell by himself.

"They never found drugs or drug paraphernalia in his cell or on him. He was sick and should have seen a doctor or went to the hospital," Soberal said. 

"I used to think that the jail would be a somewhat safe place, safer then being on the streets, but here we are today and my brother's not."

In January 2019, more than a year after Archer's death, his sister — Sharla Archer — told CBC Hamilton that the family had received no details about what happened to him, how exactly he died or if there was any investigation. The coroner's office suspected he had died of a drug overdose.

"They literally didn't tell us anything other than 'he's dead,'" Archer told CBC News.

"We never thought being in jail he would die there. We thought he would get help … we never thought he could die in government care."

At the time, Archer said she was spurred on to speak out following reports of multiple deaths out of the same facility.

Inmate's mom 'numb' after learning he died

In March 2019, Debien's mother, Brenda Thomson, joined a weekend protest in front of the detention centre, in solidarity with those with family members who died while inmates at the jail.

Less than a week later, she got a call notifying her that her son had died.

"It just kills you," she said, speaking through tears. "You're just numb." 

In announcing the death, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services said a man was found in medical distress in his cell.

Debien was the father of children aged six and 10, Thomson said, adding he was a "comedian" and "lovable guy" who was always cracking jokes and in a good mood. 

Following Sharp's death, his mother, Carol Sharp, said she remembered him as a man who loved animals and his family, not the inmate whose struggle with drug addiction led to decades bouncing in and out of jail.

"We're very sad," she said. "That knock on the door late at night .... is the one we have dreaded for many years. We knew it was coming but you're never ready."

The province says further details regarding the Hamilton inquests, including the date and venue, will be provided at a later date.