Lockdown

Two days of bleak and serious blips from me - I will see about something lighter for tomorrow. But for today, this needed to be it. Depicted here is the exterior of the Grand Valley Institution for Women, where in 2007 an 18-year-old woman girl took her life in solitary confinement while her guards stood by and watched.

Non-Canadians may not have heard of the Ashley Smith Inquest. I am representing the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in the Inquest, and today was the day for the five women who form the jury, plus the presiding Coroner, the lawyers for the various parties, and two media representatives to have a chance to see in person where Ashley spent the last weeks of her 11 months in solitary confinement. To say it was bleak would be an enormous understatement.

No cameras permitted on the inside, of course. But here is how the CBC media representative described our morning in jail: Report

I chose "Lockdown" as a title as, for our security, GVI was in lockdown today.