Denial of medicine to Errol Greene may have had deadly consequences, epilepsy expert says

When a person with epilepsy can't access their medication the consequences can be deadly, according to an epilepsy expert.

Suzanne Nurse, director of information and client services with Epilepsy Ontario, says there are a lot of unanswered questions about the death of Errol Greene, a 26-year-old man who died at the Remand Centre in Winnipeg on May. 1.

CBC News obtained a copy of the detailed autopsy report proving that Greene was not administered his seizure-controlling medication while in custody and detailing how his epileptic seizure was handled by the corrections office.

"It really is difficult to find the words to describe how you feel about somebody being put in a situation where the medication that they need to control essentially a life threatening condition is not available to them," Nurse said.

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The autopsy report stated that Greene had two seizures, and after the first he was handcuffed, shackled and held face down. An ambulance was called after the second seizure which happened about 45 minutes later while Green was inside his cell.

Nurse said people with epilepsy must monitor their medication carefully and if they don't have access to it the blood levels of the drug fall, putting the person at risk of having a seizure.

"They may be at risk of having more severe seizures and more prolonged seizures than they would have had previously," she explained.

Although seizures vary, Nurse said later phases of a prolonged seizure can reduce oxygen and blood supply to the brain, causing a brain injury.

According to the autopsy report, the immediate cause of death was "acute hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy," which simply stated means a sudden lack of oxygen to the brain. Greene was also restrained during his seizure, and according to his autopsy report that could have contributed to his death.

"You really wonder whether any of that response was required," Nurse said.

"If the individual was having a seizure and was not aware of where they were and what was happening, they may have been confused. It would be very unlikely for somebody to have any type of directed aggression during a seizure."

Greene's family is calling for an inquest into his death, but that remains in the hands of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Andrew Swan, now NDP Justice critic and former Justice Minister, said that an inquest is warranted.

"This is not about assigning fault or blame to anybody it's about trying to get to the bottom of it," he said.

Roughly 40 people held a rally outside of the Remand Centre Wednesday night demanding justice for Greene and three other inmates who have died in custody this year. 

Cecil James' sister, Kinew, died at the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon, Sask. in 2013. An inquest into her death has been postponed.

"I know what they are going through and their quest for answers," James said. "It's absolutely shocking and you expect someone to be home soon to do their time and return home to you and they don't return home. It's absolutely heart breaking and I feel the need to come and support these families whenever I can."

• Inquest into death of Kinew James pushed back in Saskatoon