The author of this article is a former provincial prisoner. Today, August 10, is Prisoners’ Justice Day. I got my first real lesson on Prisoners’ Justice Day in Millhaven Institution when I was incarcerated there in the early 2000s. I had been around in some provincial jails on August 10s before that but it was […]
Prisoners, acting mostly on their own, are changing the legal landscape of Nova Scotia’s jails
Today, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Kevin Coady published a decision, saying that the way two prisoners at the Burnside Jail are being held in solitary confinement is unfair, and he wants the jail administrators to address the situation, and if they don’t within 14 days, he wants to see the prisoners in court, potentially […]
What is going on at the East Coast Forensic Hospital?
The death of Greg Hiles last week at the East Coast Forensic Hospital has led to calls for an inquiry and questions about the conditions at the facility. Serious problems have been consistently raised about the state of the province’s hospitals, nursing homes, and other treatment facilities. Disability rights advocates recently won a Nova Scotia Human […]
“Losing our fucking minds”
Sean Kelly, the head of the province's jails, says the jails are getting better at following the rules about solitary confinement. But we talked to prisoners, and they say nothing has changed.
This week, the auditor general’s office released a review of “close confinement” practices in Nova Scotia jails. The report found that the rules about segregating prisoners are frequently not being followed and that documentation is not being kept. The findings show that prisoners in segregation are not being given showers or getting the required exercise […]