The 14 month inquiry into the death of Robert Gentles at the Kingston Penitentiary ended recently. Gentles was a 23 year old black male who died after prison guards burst into his cell to subdue him because he supposedly had the volume of his radio too loud.
The 14 month inquest focused on problems occurring inside the Kingston Penitentiary and the recommendations from it are to be implemented in Canada's prison system.
Three years ago a similar inquiry was done and it focused on the degrading and humiliating treatment of female inmates at the Kingston Prison for Women. This commission suggested that the federal government set up an independent commission to monitor the prison system.
The federal government has not bothered to implement any of the findings from that commission. Undoubtedly unless pressure is kept up the government will try to avoid implementing these recommendations as well.
The recommendations which were put forward by the inquiry included:
€ rotating guards among prisons
€ sending specially trained emergency response teams into cells with medical personnel to remove prisoners
€ punishing guards for excessive force
€ creating a civilian oversight committee for the prison system.
Although these recommendations are very progressive the inquiry failed to hold anyone accountable for the death of Robert Gentles. It was ruled that Gentles' death was caused by accidental asphyxiation.
Yet, the testimony provided at this inquest should have moved the inquiry to charge the five guards with the death of Robert Gentiles.
The inquiry testimony of the five prison guards involved in Gentles death was very flawed with contradictory stories about what happened that night.
One guard testified that Gentles was unconscious when he was removed from his prison cell. Another guard testified that Gentles looked up at her after his body was dragged from his cell.
And yet another guard said he believed Gentles was faking his inability to stand after being subdued by prison guards.
Prisoners who testified provided a clearer picture of the incident. All the prisoners who testified at the inquiry claim Gentles was unconscious when he was removed from his cell by guards.
One of the prisoners also testified that Gentles complied with the guards request to turn down his radio.
Two character witnesses provided testimony about one of the guards, Joanne Hartwick. Both of them stated that she disliked black people and she used racist names to describe black people.
Julian Falconer, the lawyer who represented the Gentles family in this inquiry used a 1989 report about the Kingston Penitentiary written by the Canadian federal government.
This report was requested by the prison warden at the time, Tom Epps. Epps requested this report because he discovered there were guards creating problems inside the Kingston Penitentiary. Epps identified two of these guards as Bernie Evans and Barry Aitchison.
Evans was cited in a 1976 report as inciting a prison riot in Millhaven in the early 1970's. Evans was fired from Millhaven Penitentiary after this report but he was later hired to work at the Kingston Penitentiary.
Aitchison, who Evans testified was his best friend, was one of the guards in Gentles cell when Gentles died. Aitchison was fired from the Kingston prison in the past when he beat an inmate who was leaving in an ambulance.
Aitchison was later reinstated to his job.
The report Falconer introduced in the inquiry concluded that guards inside the Kingston Penitentiary were creating a subculture inside the prison. This subculture allowed guards to use threats, intimidation and harassment against prisoners and other guards.
David Chiasson, Ontario's chief forensic pathologist, testified at the inquest. He said he was not given the forensic report showing blood and saliva on Gentles pillow after his death.
Chiasson also admitted he was wrong when he ruled in 1993 that Gentles died because of positional asphyxia which means death by an unexplained breathing position.
If Chiasson did not find that Gentles died of positional asphyxia then the manslaughter charges filed against the guards in 1993 would have probably not been dropped.
Although all this testimony was provided at the inquiry it was still decided Gentile's death was an accident.
This inquiry has provided some good recommendations in trying to change the prison system but it failed to bring the killers of Robert Gentles to justice.
It is important these recommendations are not ignored. It is important activists, students and workers fight for the recommendations from the Robert Gentles inquiry to be implemented by the Canadian prison system.