Ashley Smith’s Coroner’s Inquest Begins Today

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Today’s Blog Post


Ashley Smith’s Coroner’s Inquest Begins Today
The article in the Star Phoenix, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan’s newspaper, reported that the Coroner’s Inquest will begin today. It is expected that it will last up to nine months.

Ashley died on October 19, 2007. By the time this Inquest is completed it will be four years since Ashley passed away and eight years since she went into the System.

You will noticed that I used soft words to describe her death… “died”, “passed away” and even “death”. In reality is was “suicide” and if the truth is told, from what has been told already… it was “assisted suicide” by a system that doesn’t know what to do with mentally ill patients.

Right away some will think that I am referring to the Correctional Service Canada – the Federal Corrections of Canada – our Canadian Prison System. I am not. They were the unfortunate and last people/group to handle a very mentally sick young lady.

I have thought a lot about Ashley since I wrote about her on this Blog back on October 16, 2009 (see “Ashley Smith Died – The Saddest Story I have ever heard”
http://murraylincoln.blogspot.com/2009/10/ashley-smith-died-saddest-story-i-have.html )

I seriously wonder how a 15 year old girl enters the System because she threw a Crab Apple at a postal worker?

I can understand that she would be frightened and angry. I can see that she would have no idea of what was going to happen to her. I can see that she spent a long time alone as she was locked up in segregation often during her incarceration.

Now can you think back to the time you were 15 years old? Do you remember battling any hormonal changes in your body? Maybe you can remember how your younger siblings drove you crazy and how what your mom and dad said made you really mad…?

I can remember. And I can see now how my grand kids are entering that age group and are now kind of acting out all the normal stuff a normal teenager does. I can understand that they cannot control what is happening.

Now as I think of what happened… and try to picture the average teenager being picked up, put in custody of an authority that is purpose driven to keep the order and make the teenager do what they are supposed to do… I can see that the teen will get more than a little upset. Add to that any strong will that they might have inherited from their own family… and you will have one very hard teen to handle.

Now keep that teen in the System and shove them around, move them around and tell them that they have to do this or that because that is what the System says they have to do… the teen now has a really big and bad PARENT that is driving them crazy… insane in fact! And the System doesn’t make a really good PARENT – because that is not what the System is made to do. The System protects postal workers, prison guards and authorities that are made to look after a teen that will not cooperate.

And every time the teen is told to do something by an uncaring System, they simply respond by telling the System to “Go to Hell”. From what I have gleaned so far about Ashley Smith, she pretty much spoke her mind and was out to show her new PARENTS what she thought of them.

Now remember that the only law that Ashley Smith broke was the System’s Law. She was charged and dealt with within the System. She was never convicted in a Court of Law – she was charged and dealt with… that is VERY DIFFERENT from the way that you are dealt with after you get a fine or are charged and convicted in Court! In the System there are whole lot of judges and people that deal with you – that may or may not be fair with you personally. And if you happen to hurt one of the System’s People, they will charge you and deal with you in any way they see fit.

Ashley Smith was 15 year old girl… not a woman… not a criminal… not a foul mouthed Federal Prisoner… not a person that was charged, convicted and found guilty of anything! She was a girl – a 15 year old girl. And if you really need a bigger and really bad title to label her with use the rotten word “TEENAGER” to describe this girl. Because at 15 years old there are no other words to describe her!

Now keep her in Prisons and shuffle her around for 4 years, treated her as if she is dangerous, and protect your person from her… and make sure that you move her 17 times in that 4 years… and then you can call her a Criminal, A really bad person, a Most Wanted, a Most Unwanted, inmate in the System.

But wait a minute, she was never charged, convicted or sentenced for a 4 year term in the Federal Prison System of Canada. She was in there because she was a 15 year old girl that did something really stupid. She threw a crab apple at a postal worker.

Then at the very end she tied a ligature around her own neck and wished herself dead. She did that with the Prison System Staff watching and waiting for her to stop breathing – ordered to do that so they could control her better.

She committed suicide with very frustrated Prison Officers watching and being told not to go in until she stopped breathing.

Now they are going to have an Inquest and ask months and months worth of questions.

Ashley’s mom and dad are not saying anything these days. A financial settlement was reached with them. They were paid what is considered to be a large sum of money. I am assuming that it will help them past their grief.

The Star Phoenix reported that… quote… “Last week, the Smith family reached an undisclosed settlement with the government after seeking $11 million in damages in a lawsuit for their daughter's death.” – End quote. (reference below to read about it fully).

I am really thinking of all the 15 year olds in Canada today, I am thinking about busy parents and complicated family structures and that are moving at the speed of light. I am thinking how the society around me is dealing with trouble teenagers like Ashley… who may not have been that troubled after all but was made into a monster by a System that needed to protect itself and its postal workers, prison guards and every level of management possible.

NOW - A possible nine month Coroner’s Inquest that will be looking at all the issues, as they were involved with Ashley Smith and the System.

Mind you it will be an Ontario Coroner’s Inquest that will make any recommendations to do with Ontario. The Crab Apple was thrown in New Brunswick and 113 days of assessments were done in Saskatoon’s Regional Psychiatric Centre… and she died in a Federal Prison near Kitchener after 17 moves/

Ashley Smith’s horror was a Canada wide System failure.

Ashley Smith’s life between 15 years old and 19 years old… was our nightmare – not her’s.

When I was 15 years old and struggled with lots of things. At 15 I was creating big and bigger bombs that blew things up. I was close to a group of guys that did “joy riding” just for fun… where you slip into some one’s open vehicle and then put it in neutral and steer it while young friends push it away from the owners’ house… parking it another street over… then go back and watch while the owner found his car was gone. I laughed like crazy and ran for all I was worth.

Out of that group of 15 year old boys, the ring leader became a top Math Professor at a university in Ontario. Another became a great soldier and his brother became a loving priest in the Catholic Church. I became a Computer Technician and later an Ordained Minister that worked with troubled teenagers and their families… and now I work within and without the Federal Prison System of Canada – as a Citizen that watches how the System is doing their job.

Some of my compatriots that do my kind of community involvement, work in the Prison where Ashley passed away.

I cannot stop thinking of a very sad and lonely 15 year old girl that grew to be a woman that killed herself. How sad can it get?

God help us all!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/ 

Resource:
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Inquest+into+Smith+death+prison+begin+today/4789198/story.html