The Supreme Court has responded to the awful truth about an end to solitary confinement in Canadian Prisons. Namely, that it will lead to the death of prisoners who are determined to hurt or kill either themselves or others. Prisoner isolation was declared unconstitutional 18 months ago by the Ontario Court of Appeal in a decision that would have become effective Monday. The high court Sunday set aside that deadline at the urging of the federal government to permit a full hearing on the issue. Recent years have seen ferocious lobbying by many groups as well as an emotional campaign by the Toronto Star to end so-called administrative isolation. In its request to set aside the deadline, the government warned that banning solitary confinement without a practical alternative in place would create a dangerous situation in prisons. Indeed, it isn’t difficult to imagine wholesale bloodshed caused by persons who are legally sane but dangerously violent. Colin Perkel, Canadian Press.
