Judges should consider 'scary' Barton jail overdose rate at bail hearings: lawyers
7 inmates were taken to hospital after suspected overdoses at the HWDC this week
Two veteran defence lawyers say the rate of overdoses at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre (HWDC) is so "outrageous" and "scary" it should be a factor considered by the courts in bail hearings.
Seven inmates —six women and one man— were taken to hospital after suspected overdoses at the Barton jail this week alone. That brings the total number of potential overdoses at the facility to 20 so far this year, according to Hamilton EMS.
At least three of those suspected overdoses were fatal.
"I'm hearing more and more often from parents and family members coming forward to bail out their loved ones that they're terrified because they just don't know what's going to happen to them once they're in the Barton jail," said lawyer Kim Edward. "It's just a very scary situation."
Edward has defended dozens of murder cases over a law career spanning more than three decades.
She says conditions at the jail have been a "huge concern" for a long time and something the city's Criminal Lawyers' Association should be raising.
Lawyer lost a former client to a suspected overdose
That's a position Peter Boushy, a former president of the association, also supports.
"The outrageous rate of overdoses at the Barton Street Jail is an obvious concern to all of us working in the criminal justice system," he said, adding the rise in popularity of drugs like fentanyl mean even small quantities of drugs can cause an overdose.
Boushy knows the danger of drugs in the jail better than most.
Paul Debien, one of his former clients, died of a suspected overdose at the HWDC in March.
"I know his family, particularly his mother, are absolutely devastated by his loss," said Boushy.
Eleven people died from drug overdoses at the HWDC between 2010 and 2017, according to statistics from the Office of the Chief Coroner, which is almost triple the number of the next closest facility. At least five more have died since.
The lawyers both argue one way to take on the problem is for judges and justices of the peace to consider the overdose situation at the jail when deciding whether or not accused people should get bail.
CBC News asked the Ministry of the Attorney General, which oversees Ontario's justice system, whether it is considering having judges and justices do that.
It said in a statement that justices and judges are independent and free to make their decisions without " any control or influence exerted by parties outside the judicial system."
The statement noted judges and justices already take a range of factors into account, "including the background of the accused, the nature and circumstances of the alleged offence, and the applicable legal principles."
Boushy, however, says he believes the administration of justice could be adversely affected if lawyers can't guarantee the safety of their clients while they wait in jail, sometimes for months, before going to trial.
One way to make the ministry 'stand up and take notice'
The potential danger inside the HWDC, coupled with the current changes in case law around bail that focus on release, not detention, are two things Edward also says justices of the peace should weigh as factors.
In doing so, she says, they could set a standard for the country.
"I think it's something that could draw attention for the [Ministry of the Solicitor General] that they need to do something more significant," explained the Edward.
"The reality is, the same bail system should apply throughout Canada and if all of a sudden in Hamilton we're getting people released on bail because our jail is just a killing ground, it's going to make people stand up and take notice."