Prisoners’ Rights Group Takes BC to Court Over Unfair Prisoner Disciplinary System

by | May 12, 2015 | Disciplinary charges, News, News Releases

News Release

May 12, 2015

Today, the West Coast Prison Justice Society (WCPJS) filed a lawsuit against the BC government challenging the fairness of the BC Corrections’ prisoner disciplinary system.

In BC, prison staff adjudicate disciplinary hearings against prisoners accused of violating institutional rules. “This lawsuit challenges the lack of independence in a system where the offended party is the judge”, says Tonia Grace, counsel for WCPJS and three prisoner plaintiffs.

Correctional staff can impose sanctions as severe as solitary confinement when a prisoner is found guilty of breaking an institutional rule.

Prisoners can appeal convictions to the Investigation and Standards Office, who routinely find the prisoner’s right to an impartial, unbiased decision maker was violated.

At some BC prisons, the conviction rate is approximately 90%. About 50% of appeals to the Investigation and Standards Office are successful.

“By the time the appeal overturns the conviction, prisoners will have served most or all of the sentence in solitary confinement. A successful appeal is a hollow victory for most prisoners”, says Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director of Prisoners’ Legal Services, a project of WCPJS.

Prisoners are found guilty on the low “balance of probabilities” standard of proof, rather than the higher criminal standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt”. This means that prisoners can be held in solitary confinement for up to 30 days for one breach, and up to 45 days for more than one breach, even if the decision-maker is not sure the prisoner committed the breach. The lawsuit also challenges the use of the lower standard of proof.

“When prisoners feel they have been treated unfairly, it does not foster a respect for the rule of law, which is essential to their rehabilitation as law abiding citizens”, says Metcalfe.

To read the Notice of Civil Claim, click here.

For more information please contact:

Jennifer Metcalfe
Prisoners’ Legal Services
604-636-0470
jmetcalfe@pls-bc.ca

Tonia Grace
Grace, Snowdon & Terepocki
604-744-1066
tgrace@gstlegal.ca

Prisoners’ Legal Services
302-7818 6th Street
Burnaby, BC

Tel: 604-636-0470
Fax: 604-636-0480

Email: info@pls-bc.ca

We are grateful for the
funding provided by

How to Show Your Support

Help us to continue to fight for the human rights of prisoners in BC! PLS is currently litigating the important systemic issues of the segregation of prisoners with mental disabilities, access to health care, transgender prisoner rights, and access to religion and Indigenous spirituality. We need help to continue to do this important work. Donations to West Coast Prison Justice Society are non-charitable and are not tax deductible.

 

Donations can be made to
West Coast Prison Justice Society

Or by PayPal:

Donate Button with PayPal

Please call us at 604-636-0470 or email us at  info@pls-bc.ca if you would like to discuss your donation.

Thanks for your support!

Canada proposes increasing prison disciplinary fines

Canada proposes increasing prison disciplinary fines

by | Jul 24, 2014 | Disciplinary charges, News, Submissions

Canada proposes increasing prison disciplinary fines

Federal prisoners earn very little in wages or welfare while in prison. Working prisoners are required to pay for room, board and the telephone system as well as fees for the Inmate Welfare Fund, over the counter medications, stamps and stationary. Many are trying to save money to support their families or to prepare for a successful release to the community.

The federal government is proposing increasing the fines for disciplinary convictions to up to $50 for minor charges, $100 for serious charges and $200 for repeat offenders. Prisoners can be charged for relatively insignificant conduct such as disobeying a justifiable order of a staff member, cell visiting or being disrespectful toward a staff member. A fine for a serious charge could represent more than one and a half months’ income, or almost three months’ income for a repeat charge.

Prisoners’ Legal Services made submissions to the federal government regarding these proposed amendments. You can read our submissions here.

Prisoners’ Legal Services
302-7818 6th Street
Burnaby, BC

Tel: 604-636-0470
Fax: 604-636-0480

Email: info@pls-bc.ca

We are grateful for the
funding provided by

How to Show Your Support

Help us to continue to fight for the human rights of prisoners in BC! PLS is currently litigating the important systemic issues of the segregation of prisoners with mental disabilities, access to health care, transgender prisoner rights, and access to religion and Indigenous spirituality. We need help to continue to do this important work. Donations to West Coast Prison Justice Society are non-charitable and are not tax deductible.

 

Donations can be made to
West Coast Prison Justice Society

Or by PayPal:

Donate Button with PayPal

Please call us at 604-636-0470 or email us at  info@pls-bc.ca if you would like to discuss your donation.

Thanks for your support!

BC Court of Appeal affirms Human Rights Tribunal’s role in advancing public interest

by | Jun 12, 2014 | News, News Releases

Prisoners’ Legal Services filed a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal on behalf of Mr. Charles Mzite, a prisoner with HIV. While being held in provincial custody, Mr. Mzite experienced regular interruptions of his HIV medication. The Tribunal accepted his late-filed complaint in consideration of the systemic issues involving vulnerable prisoners and the public interest in having the complaint heard. The government argued the Tribunal was wrong to consider the systemic issues and the Supreme Court of BC agreed with the government.

PLS and the Community Legal Assistance Society represented Mr. Mzite in his appeal to the BC Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal upheld the Tribunal decision to accept the late-filed complaint, accepting that the Tribunal’s remedy for an individual complaint can have a systemic impact. The Court of Appeal found that the BCSC erred in finding that the Tribunal could consider only the complainant’s personal interest in the complaint. It found “the Tribunal has been given a legislative mandate to exercise a discretion in the public interest to hear late-filed complaints.” In this case, there was evidence that BC Corrections’ policies created a systemic, ongoing problem of prisoners having HIV medication interrupted. The Court of Appeal found that the Tribunal “must be deemed well-versed…in identifying areas where public attention or scrutiny is warranted and in identifying gaps in its jurisprudence”.

Read the case here.

Prisoners’ Legal Services
302-7818 6th Street
Burnaby, BC

Tel: 604-636-0470
Fax: 604-636-0480

Email: info@pls-bc.ca

We are grateful for the
funding provided by

How to Show Your Support

Help us to continue to fight for the human rights of prisoners in BC! PLS is currently litigating the important systemic issues of the segregation of prisoners with mental disabilities, access to health care, transgender prisoner rights, and access to religion and Indigenous spirituality. We need help to continue to do this important work. Donations to West Coast Prison Justice Society are non-charitable and are not tax deductible.

 

Donations can be made to
West Coast Prison Justice Society

Or by PayPal:

Donate Button with PayPal

Please call us at 604-636-0470 or email us at  info@pls-bc.ca if you would like to discuss your donation.

Thanks for your support!

Canada proposes increasing prison disciplinary fines

Proposed reguations will limit prisoner visits and increase searches

by | Jun 9, 2014 | News, Submissions

Proposed regulations will limit prisoner visits and increase searches

The West Coast Prison Justice Society has endorsed submissions made by the Canadian Prison Law Association that are critical of proposed regulations that would limit the right of prisoners to have visits and would increase searches of prisoners and their visitors.

The new regulations are aimed at reducing the amount of drugs that enter prison, despite the fact that CSC’s own evidence demonstrates that drug interdiction measures have not been effective in reducing drug use in prison.

Studies have shown that prisoners who have visits are less likely to commit crimes and return to prison after they are released to the community. The evidence also supports harm reduction strategies that reduce the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C. The proposed regulations do not provide for harm reduction strategies such as needle exchanges or supervised use programs. Neither do the proposed regulations provide for an increase in treatment for prisoners who are addicted to drugs.

You can read the CPLA submissions here.

Prisoners’ Legal Services
302-7818 6th Street
Burnaby, BC

Tel: 604-636-0470
Fax: 604-636-0480

Email: info@pls-bc.ca

We are grateful for the
funding provided by

How to Show Your Support

Help us to continue to fight for the human rights of prisoners in BC! PLS is currently litigating the important systemic issues of the segregation of prisoners with mental disabilities, access to health care, transgender prisoner rights, and access to religion and Indigenous spirituality. We need help to continue to do this important work. Donations to West Coast Prison Justice Society are non-charitable and are not tax deductible.

 

Donations can be made to
West Coast Prison Justice Society

Or by PayPal:

Donate Button with PayPal

Please call us at 604-636-0470 or email us at  info@pls-bc.ca if you would like to discuss your donation.

Thanks for your support!