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| Alexander McClelland |
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| Valerie Danieli |
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| Lindsay Jennings |
The project is a partnership between scholars, lawyers and communities impacted by deaths in custody. The work of the project represents the synthesis of data from many sources, including coroner reports, media articles, government information portals and direct contact with the families of people memorialized in the dataset. Neither the federal nor provincial governments in Canada keep a central repository that records the deaths of people in state custody in ways that are accessible to the public. The Tracking (In)Justice project aims to fill this data gap and to start to provide a greater understanding of these deaths. The database utilizes a living methodology and will continue to grow and be updated as more information becomes available or as new deaths occur. Analysis of the database identifies key trends, fundamental challenges and broader implications for justice and policy reform in Canada.
On Dec. 12, 2023, it was decided by a five-member jury panel, presided over by David Cameron, that Soleiman Faqiri died by means of homicide, “… due to a combination of his restraint in a prone position, the injuries he sustained during the struggle with guards, exertion and ‘pepper foam exposure’ while having an enlarged heart, and his worsening symptoms of schizophrenia.”
Faqiri died in a provincial jail cell on Dec. 15, 2016, while enduring a psychiatric emergency. He spent 11 days in segregation waiting for a mental health assessment that never happened, and neither was he taken to the local hospital. Faqiri represents one name, one person, in the Tracking (In)Justice database of over 2,000 deaths in custody, many with similar fact patterns. There are many documented cases where a death is directly attributable to a failure in the duty of care to provide adequate medical care.
Tracking (In)Justice was granted standing to testify at the Soleiman Faqiri inquest. We provided expert testimony, specifically around the role of spit hoods in the deaths of several people who were in custody and suffering from schizophrenia. This intervention is key to the approach of the project, which aims to develop data to better understand systemic patterns that lead to deaths and to call for greater transparency and accountability.
Among many sobering takeaways, the database reveals that the average age of death for a person in custody is 44.2 years old as compared to the national average in Canada of approximately 81 years old. The database tells the death story of people of all ages, the youngest person being 14 years old and the oldest 90, both of whose manner of death was suicide. As of August 2024, the research reveals that over half of the deaths in custody where the manner of death was known were categorized as “unnatural” meaning, they were the result of suicide, homicide or accidental causes.
In response to the data, Jennifer Chambers of the Empowerment Council encapsulates the ethical tensions embodied in our penal system, “As Canadians, we reject the death penalty, yet people in custody have little more than half the lifespan of people on the outside.”
Beyond the moral quandaries uncovered throughout the project, the data interrogates how conditions in our carceral institutions reconcile with ss. 7 and 15 of the Charter.
Another category, natural deaths, makes up 37 per cent of the dataset and refers to deaths that a coroner deems to have occurred from natural causes. These deaths do not require inquests in all provinces and territories except for British Columbia and Saskatchewan. However, there are several cases within this category that reveal circumstances surrounding a death that are far from natural. For example, there are 15 “natural” deaths in the database from the years 2001 to 2017 that involved various tactical interventions, including at least one, or a combination of, restraints such as chemical/inflammatory agents, sedating agents and/or physical handling from corrections officers or police. For the deaths classified as “natural” that were the result of disease or chronic illness, there are questions regarding the timeliness, adequacy and standard of care that is available to those who are incarcerated. Catherine Latimer of the John Howard Society has aptly stated, “When your jailer is your health-care provider, issues of security and cost will trump prisoner’s needs.”
The project has also revealed, through its research and methodology process, deep gaps in internal investigation procedures and subsequent disclosure of findings. The inconsistency in data reporting across different jurisdictions underscores the need for public and standardized procedures for tracking and reporting deaths in custody. Government data portals are often incomplete, not updated or nonexistent altogether. This lack of transparency not only prevents meaningful oversight but also denies affected families the truth about what happened to their loved ones behind the walls of correctional facilities.
The Tracking (In)Justice database offers a detailed snapshot of thousands of deaths in custody and with those deaths, many issues connected to prison healthcare standards, Canadian human rights and the entanglement of the medical and justice systems. With greater calls for professionals in the justice system to align their practices with restorative justice principles, this database offers a starting point for a paradigm shift in our approach to incarceration.
The Tracking (In)Justice database is publicly available here and is designed to be used by individuals, organizations and communities to empower advocacy, shape policy and create accountability.
Alexander McClelland is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Criminology, Carleton University where he leads the Tracking (In)Justice project. Valerie Danieli is a Research Associate with the Tracking (In)Justice project and is pursuing her Juris Doctor degree at Osgoode Hall Law School. Lindsay Jennings is a Research Associate with the Tracking (In)Justice project and is someone who survived incarceration.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
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