- 注册
- 2002-10-07
- 消息
- 402,187
- 荣誉分数
- 76
- 声望点数
- 0
An accused serial rapist was not considered at risk of harming himself when he entered the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre in May 2014.
Less than two years later, while still awaiting trial, Yousef Hussein, 27, was found hanging by a sheet from the upper bunk railing of his cell.
Hussein had been taken off suicide watch the day before. He left a note on a small desk in the cell that ended: “I’m no coward. But I can’t keep living like this.”
The suicide note was among the evidence presented Monday on the first day of an inquest into Hussein’s death. The inquest, expected to last five days, is to hear evidence from 21 witnesses about the circumstances of Hussein’s death and issues such as mental health care for inmates, the instruments for assessing suicide risk and the policies around segregation.
Under the Coroners Act, inquests are mandatory for all prisoners who die while in custody. The five-person jury cannot make findings of legal responsibility but may make recommendations to prevent deaths in similar circumstances.
Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion told the jurors that the inquest was not a wide-ranging public inquiry but was limited to looking at the death of Hussein.
Hussein was charged in May 2014 after a seven-month police investigation into as many as 10 linked assaults. He was accused of choking and sexually assaulting five women and an attempting to attack a sixth woman. The investigation that led to his arrest, called Project Java, generated hundreds of tips to police and more than 100 persons of interest.
The first day of the inquest drew a sketch of a man who was stressed about relationship issues and overwhelmed at the thought of being transferred to another jail.
Hussein had no history of psychiatric illness when he was admitted to the detention centre. He underwent a suicide prevention checklist and denied any thoughts of self-harm. But in June 2015, he reported depression, as well as insomnia and focus issues the following month. Hussein, who was born in Kuwait and came to Canada in 2009, told a psychologist he was afraid of being deported.
On March 3, 2016, Hussein was assessed by a psychologist for a segregation review and complained of anxiety and depressed mood. A screening assessment tool was completed at the time and found that risk of suicide and self harm was not evident. He was assessed again on March 13, and was found to be stressed about relationship issues.
Hussein was scheduled to be transferred to another jail on April 8, but the receiving institution didn’t have a segregation cell. On April 11, Hussein mentioned stresses in his family and said he was overwhelmed by the impending transfer. But he scored zero out of 10 for self harm. He had been on suicide watch, but it was cancelled.
Hussein was found hanging in his cell on April 12, 2016 at 3:01 a.m.
The inquest heard that paramedics were notified at 3:05 a.m, and arrived at 3:11 a.m. When paramedics arrived at the jail, they found Hussein unresponsive and corrections officers were performing CPR. Hussein was declared dead at the General campus of The Ottawa Hospital at 3:46 am.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Derek Pallandi told the inquest that there is no litmus test for predicting suicide. A number of attempts have been made to develop paper tests to achieve this goal, but none has worked very well, he said.
“You can’t put it into an equation and say, ‘There’s a reasonable expectation that someone will commit suicide.’ ”
Prison inmates fall solidly into the demographic for suicide: They’re male, they have lost their liberty and they face changes and upheavals in their lives, said Pallandi.
There are about 3,900 suicides out of about 240,000 deaths a year in Canada. The suicide rate in the general population is about 11 or 12 people for every 100,000 people, he said. But the suicide rate in the incarcerated population is estimated to be five to eight times higher than that.
查看原文...
Less than two years later, while still awaiting trial, Yousef Hussein, 27, was found hanging by a sheet from the upper bunk railing of his cell.
Hussein had been taken off suicide watch the day before. He left a note on a small desk in the cell that ended: “I’m no coward. But I can’t keep living like this.”
The suicide note was among the evidence presented Monday on the first day of an inquest into Hussein’s death. The inquest, expected to last five days, is to hear evidence from 21 witnesses about the circumstances of Hussein’s death and issues such as mental health care for inmates, the instruments for assessing suicide risk and the policies around segregation.
Under the Coroners Act, inquests are mandatory for all prisoners who die while in custody. The five-person jury cannot make findings of legal responsibility but may make recommendations to prevent deaths in similar circumstances.
Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion told the jurors that the inquest was not a wide-ranging public inquiry but was limited to looking at the death of Hussein.
Hussein was charged in May 2014 after a seven-month police investigation into as many as 10 linked assaults. He was accused of choking and sexually assaulting five women and an attempting to attack a sixth woman. The investigation that led to his arrest, called Project Java, generated hundreds of tips to police and more than 100 persons of interest.
The first day of the inquest drew a sketch of a man who was stressed about relationship issues and overwhelmed at the thought of being transferred to another jail.
Hussein had no history of psychiatric illness when he was admitted to the detention centre. He underwent a suicide prevention checklist and denied any thoughts of self-harm. But in June 2015, he reported depression, as well as insomnia and focus issues the following month. Hussein, who was born in Kuwait and came to Canada in 2009, told a psychologist he was afraid of being deported.
On March 3, 2016, Hussein was assessed by a psychologist for a segregation review and complained of anxiety and depressed mood. A screening assessment tool was completed at the time and found that risk of suicide and self harm was not evident. He was assessed again on March 13, and was found to be stressed about relationship issues.
Hussein was scheduled to be transferred to another jail on April 8, but the receiving institution didn’t have a segregation cell. On April 11, Hussein mentioned stresses in his family and said he was overwhelmed by the impending transfer. But he scored zero out of 10 for self harm. He had been on suicide watch, but it was cancelled.
Hussein was found hanging in his cell on April 12, 2016 at 3:01 a.m.
The inquest heard that paramedics were notified at 3:05 a.m, and arrived at 3:11 a.m. When paramedics arrived at the jail, they found Hussein unresponsive and corrections officers were performing CPR. Hussein was declared dead at the General campus of The Ottawa Hospital at 3:46 am.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Derek Pallandi told the inquest that there is no litmus test for predicting suicide. A number of attempts have been made to develop paper tests to achieve this goal, but none has worked very well, he said.
“You can’t put it into an equation and say, ‘There’s a reasonable expectation that someone will commit suicide.’ ”
Prison inmates fall solidly into the demographic for suicide: They’re male, they have lost their liberty and they face changes and upheavals in their lives, said Pallandi.
There are about 3,900 suicides out of about 240,000 deaths a year in Canada. The suicide rate in the general population is about 11 or 12 people for every 100,000 people, he said. But the suicide rate in the incarcerated population is estimated to be five to eight times higher than that.
查看原文...
