Home / Crime and Justice / Inmate Awarded $15K for Discrimination on Suicide Watch
Inmate Awarded $15K for Discrimination on Suicide Watch
10 Sep
Summary
- An inmate received $15,000 for discrimination during suicide watch.
- The cell was reportedly covered in bodily fluids and lacked essential amenities.
- Correctional officers mocked the inmate during a mental health crisis.
A B.C. correctional facility has been ordered to pay $15,000 in damages to an inmate for discrimination related to mental disability. The ruling stems from Ashton Dayries' complaint about his treatment during the first 24 hours of his detention in 2021.
Dayries reported his suicide watch cell was in a deplorable state, soiled with bodily fluids and inhabited by rodents. He was denied a pillow for a back injury and deprived of food, water, and psychiatric medication. When he pressed the emergency call button seeking assistance due to anxiety and PTSD triggered by the conditions, correctional officers allegedly responded with hostility and mockery.
The B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General denied the allegations, but the Human Rights Tribunal member favored Dayries' testimony. The tribunal found that exacerbating a disability through adverse treatment constitutes discrimination under the Human Rights Code.
The tribunal determined that withholding medication, confinement in a filthy cell, and mockery during a crisis created a disability-related adverse impact. This failure to treat Dayries with dignity and mitigate negative impacts based on his pre-existing conditions led to the significant damage award for injury to dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
