Pubdate: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2007 The Toronto Star Contact: http://www.thestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456 Author: Isabel Teotonio, Staff reporter Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone) MAN WHO DIED AFTER BEING DENIED METHADONE IN JAIL CAUGHT IN LEGAL LOOPHOLE, FAMILY SAYS Locked in the slammer and jonesing for methadone -- it's a tough combination. For Keigo White, it turned lethal. Last fall, the 40-year-old Toronto man wound up at the Don Jail on driving and drug offences, his family says. The former heroin addict, who was placed in the hospital range, was reportedly overheard threatening to kill himself if not given methadone to satisfy his cravings. Three days after his admission, on Oct. 9, he was found in his cell, unconscious and without a pulse. White had taken twisted bedsheets, tied one around the toilet, placed the other end around his neck, and violently jerked forward, choking himself. Paramedics were able to revive him but he had suffered severe brain damage. Despite being in a vegetative state, police and correctional officers kept round-the-clock watch over him at Toronto Western Hospital. Given his condition, a paralegal acting on White's behalf sought to have the charges withdrawn -- in early December they were stayed and White was no longer an inmate. A month later, he died in hospital. He was, in theory, a free man. Had White died while an inmate of a correctional institution -- even while in hospital and under guard -- a coroner's inquest would have been mandatory. But because he wasn't in custody when he died, the legislation doesn't require that an inquest be called, according to the Office of the Chief Coroner. It's a legal loophole, says Michael White, who thinks that both his family and the public have a right to know the circumstances of his brother's death. Besides, he says, just because the charges were stayed doesn't change the fact that his death was directly linked to what happened at the jail. "One need not be a rocket scientist to conclude that the ligature found around the neck of Keigo White caused the irreversible brain injury which led to his death," writes family lawyer Barry Swadron in a letter to Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter. "The die was cast: he was simply being kept alive by modern medicine." The family is calling on the minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services to order an inquest. The Coroner's Act does permit the minister to call an inquest, but in Ontario that has never been done. Kwinter is expected to make a decision in a few weeks. He refused to comment on this case until he has fully reviewed the file. In a letter to Swadron, regional supervising coroner Dr. Albert Lauwers explained that because correctional officers were removed from White's hospital room before his death on Jan. 6, "the legislation does not mandate an inquest and an inquest will therefore not be conducted." In a subsequent letter, Ontario's Chief Coroner Dr. Barry McLellan said he agreed with Lauwers' decision and interpretation of the legislation. White's family, however, thinks the refusal to call an inquest is an attempt to cover up the jail's failure to give him methadone and appropriately treat him. "When you say you're going to off yourself they should put you on suicide watch in a cell with no sheets, no instruments and nothing that could be used to hurt yourself with," says White's foster sister Kimberly, who asked that her last name not be used. "But they didn't take him seriously -- they just ignored him." She said she received a phone call from an inmate at the jail, who told her he had overheard White yell at the guards, "If you don't give me my methadone I am going to hang myself." There is a methadone maintenance program in jails but it is available only to inmates who were already on a methadone program before being incarcerated. As a general rule, institutions will not provide methadone to those who are used to getting their methadone fix from a dealer rather than a doctor, unless the inmate is pregnant. According to his foster sister, White had been buying methadone on the streets which is probably why the jail refused to give him any. To this day, the family says, they still wonder if White was attempting to take his life or simply trying to numb the pain from methadone withdrawal. The family has requested the government hand over the file on White's incarceration while at the Don Jail last year, but they have yet to receive it. What The Coroner's Act Says According to the Coroner's Act: Where a person dies while detained by or in the actual custody of a peace officer or while an inmate on the premises of a correctional institution, lock-up, or place or facility designated as a place of secure custody under section 24.1 of the Young Offenders Act (Canada), whether in accordance with section 88 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada) or otherwise, the peace officer or officer in charge of the institution, lock-up or place or facility, as the case may be, shall immediately give notice of the death to a coroner and the coroner shall issue a warrant to hold an inquest upon the body. R.S.O. 1990, c.C.37, s.10(4); 2006, c.19, Sched.D, s.4 (2). - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman