Justice, not torture
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 28 May 2020 10:30
- Written by editor
Dear BCCLA supporter,
We have big news to share. Today, we’re announcing the end of our cross-appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada in our ground-breaking solitary confinement case.
We’ve been challenging the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons for years. As you may know, on June 24, 2019, we won a historic court ruling at the BC Court of Appeal that found the laws authorizing prolonged, indefinite solitary confinement in Canada’s federal prisons violate the Charter. Last month, the government abandoned their fight to overturn this important court decision.
This development will help ensure that our BC Court of Appeal ruling stands, and end any uncertainty about the unconstitutionality of Canada’s solitary confinement regime.
Read the full press release hereOur case... would not have been possible without the countless current and formerly imprisoned people who bravely stepped forward to describe the cruel reality of solitary confinement to the courts. This included the testimonies of people like Bobby Lee Worm, who spent three and half years in isolation, Andre Blair who spent 363 days imprisoned in a small and dirty cell with a solid steel door, and the family of Christopher Roy, a young life lost while locked away in solitary confinement.
Their strength and resilience shined a light on the unjust conditions in prisons.
They and other prisoners spoke of being held in solitary confinement for weeks, months, and sometimes years on end; of being denied food, toilet paper, and essential menstrual products. Their families spoke of being unable to contact their imprisoned loved ones, and of learning that the devastating impact of solitary confinement had led their family member to commit suicide.
These stories - and countless others - represent the intolerable cost of solitary confinement. We remember and stand with all the current and formerly imprisoned people who made this case possible, as their resilience and bravery continue to guide us.
Learn more here.
While this chapter of the story has come to a close, the fight against this unjust system is not over.
In June 2019, the government passed a new law, Bill C-83, which may allow the practice of indefinite solitary confinement to continue under a different name. The Office of the Correctional Investigator reports prisons are using solitary confinement to isolate people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We will continue the fight to ensure that prisoners are not subjected to this cruel and unconstitutional practice. In the months to come, we will also continue to monitor the use of prolonged solitary confinement in prisons.
Thank you for standing up against this grave injustice. I know you will continue to stand alongside us as we push the government to uphold the fundamental rights of all prisoners.
Sincerely,
Grace Pastine
Litigation Director
