Latest news with #SWDC
CBC
7 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Overcrowding, lockdowns inside this Windsor-area jail are so persistent, it's leading to reduced sentences
Overcrowding and frequent lockdowns due to short staffing: These are some of the conditions at the South West Detention Centre that led to a lighter sentence of a Windsor man charged with gun trafficking. In March, Lawrence Davis was sentenced to seven years in jail after he was found guilty on gun-related charges. Davis was charged in December 2021 after he got into an argument with a man in a vehicle at a parking lot near Tecumseh Road East and Forest Glade Drive. The heated argument turned into a gunfight — one man died, while Davis was shot in the shoulder and treated in hospital. Without being able to prove whether Davis acted out of self-defence, first degree murder and attempted murder charges were dismissed. But in the publicly available decision related to Davis's probation breaches and gun-related charges, the judge says he considered the conditions the man faced during his pre-sentence custody at the South West Detention Centre (SWDC). Those conditions included multiple lockdowns and sleeping three people to a two-person cell. Courts are able to take these factors into consideration under what is known as Duncan's Credit — the credit is not a defined number of days or months, but rather a mitigating factor. While it isn't anything new, some experts say its use points to persistent problems in Ontario's correctional system. Lawyer says 'harsh' conditions are common in area jail Patricia Brown, Davis's lawyer, told CBC News that she always tries to inform the court of the poor conditions people face in jails. And since COVID-19, she says she's been detailing these conditions more often. "I'm raising the concerns before justices so they can realize that the accused person, although they were not yet convicted or sentenced or found guilty ... [was] in harsh conditions," she said. In Davis's case, she said there were three people in his two-person cell for 523 of the 803 days he was at SWDC. According to the decision, Davis was assigned the floor mattress on "some of these days," but it notes that the arrangements on paper aren't always what actually take place. Davis also experienced a total of 109 lockdowns — on top of the usual lockdowns in place daily from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Seventy-seven of the lockdowns he experienced were due to "insufficient staffing," the decision notes. "When you think of yourself and your space is crowded, you're dealing with someone that may not be [cleaning] themself properly ... you're frustrated, they're frustrated, they're in a tight quarter ... all of those are factors that you consider can create a frustrating atmosphere that can be potentially dangerous," said Brown. "It can cause inmates to act out on each other, it makes it unsafe for even employees." She stresses that this sort of environment is especially difficult for people who have addiction or mental health issues. Jail operating over and above capacity Overcrowding and frequent lockdowns are common problems, says Katrina Digiacinto, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 135, which represents staff at the facility. Though the jail is meant to hold 315 people, Digiacinto says right now they have closer to 400 inmates. Crowding tends to elevate tensions, leading to more violence toward staff and other inmates, she said. But unless the employer approves it, Digiacinto says they can't just bring in more staff. "If the employer was more willing to increase the staff per shift, we would experience fewer lockdowns," she said. Right now, she says they could use an extra 20 staff members to handle a full day and night shift. Ontario's ministry of the solicitor general did not return a request for comment. But in previous stories about overcrowding at South West Detention Centre, the ministry said it recognizes the need for modernization in corrections and is investing $500 million for new staff and infrastructure projects. It has also said it is aware of "capacity pressures" at SWDC. 'Rethink' entire system: corrections reform expert Longstanding issues are driving these problems, says Howard Sapers, who led a two-year independent review on Ontario's correctional system in 2016. That review led to three reports that included 167 recommendations. Sapers says despite the commitment to make improvements, "things haven't gotten any better, in fact they've deteriorated since I did that work." When asked whether these conditions violate someone's charter rights, Sapers said "absolutely." But he said these issues are allowed to persist because even though there's "lots of policies, lots of laws" there is no "absolute prohibition." When a person is charged and a judge declines to release them on bail, "that person is then dropped off at the door of a local provincial jail, and the jail doesn't really have the ability to say, 'we're simply too crowded,'" Sapers said. While he says there's a lot that needs to change to fix these problems, he says it's not about building more jails or hiring more correctional officers. "It's rethinking how it is we use pretrial custody, what the purpose of a correctional centre should be," he said, adding these changes would need to involve everyone from police all the way to the mental healthcare system. For Brown, the lawyer in Windsor, she agrees. Speaking generally — it's not about bigger jails, but rather making changes to the bail system, she says.
Voice of America
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
Somali activists mark International Women's Day with eye toward future
As the world commemorates International Women's Day, the stories of courageous women like Zahra Mohamed Ahmad highlight their resilience amid ongoing conflict and struggles for equality. From advocating for human rights to supporting their communities, these women continue to shape the future of Somalia. Somali human rights defender Zahra Mohamed Ahmad is one of an extraordinary group of women who made sacrifices for her country. She fled from the country, following the 1991 collapse of the central government of Somalia. Mama Zahra, as she is affectionately known, returned to Somalia in 2000 and has fought since then for "justice, equality, and Somali unity." Her biggest loss, she said, came when her only son was killed by unknown men who stopped him as he was walking along one of the streets of Mogadishu. Despite that tragedy, she and her colleagues at the organization she founded, the Somali Women Development Center (SWDC), continue to support the voiceless and marginalized. In 2021, the U.S. State Department recognized her exceptional bravery in defending the rights of the most vulnerable and awarded her the International Women of Courage Award. This year, Ahmed was among several Somali women who shared their feelings with VOA Somali to commemorate International Women's Day. "The gloomy ugly days that followed the ouster of the former Siad Barre regime, the days our children were dying for starvation and famine, the days mothers, children, and the old people dying on the streets fleeing from their homes, are still fresh in my memory," Ahmed said. "And every year March 8 reminds many Somali women of the plight conditions they have gone through, in which many of them still live," said Ahmad. Duniyo Mohamed Ali, a Somali woman activist in Mogadishu, remembers the role of Somali women for the survival of family in a nation devastated by civil war. "After the civil war broke out in 1991, the Somali women were the saviors of their families. They built schools and smaller clinics; mediated peace talks between clans; and became entrepreneurs to get bread on the tables of their families," Ali said. In the country's northeastern state of Puntland, women turned their celebration for Women's Day this year into campaigns of preparing food for Puntland security forces, who are at the front lines fighting with Islamic State terrorists. The chairperson of the Bari Region Women's Organization, Kafi Ali Jire, said they could not celebrate the day with music and events because of the ongoing Puntland war with ISIS. "Many women are mourning for the deaths of their husbands in the battle; others are sad because their husbands were injured, and many others whose husbands, sons and brothers are on the front lines are worrying about the safety of their loved ones, so instead of celebrating with colored events, [annual celebrations of the day that used to be held with arts, food and politicians], we have decided to dedicate the day to support our brave soldiers," said Jire. In politics, as it has been the case for years, Somali women do not have much to celebrate this International Women's Day because they are still struggling to reach a 30% quota set for women lawmakers in the country and other decision-making political offices. "As of today, female candidates have secured only half the needed seats to reach the quota," said Lul Mohamed Sheikh, a women's rights activist in Mogadishu who has a doctorate. "Our dream was that each community with three or more seats should have allocated one seat for the women. It sadly did not happen." Sheikh said the social and cultural norms that prevented women from getting constitutionally allocated seats are still in place. "Clan elders, who play a key role in selecting potential lawmakers, have been blocking women from seeking office," she said. "Other challenges include that the country's leaders do not nominate a good number of women into the top political offices and lack of unity among women," Sheikh added. Out of the 275 seats for Somalia's Lower House, clans have so far selected only 52 women. As Somalia's women continue to navigate the challenges posed by conflict and societal norms, their stories of resilience and determination serve as a powerful reminder of their essential role in shaping the nation's future. Humanitarian crisis This year International Women's Day comes as Somali women suffer from displacement caused by the ongoing war against al-Shabab and Islamic State in the country's Northeast and Central regions. Somalia, an aid-dependent nation that averted famine in 2022 through increased humanitarian assistance, is now witnessing a resurgence of food insecurity. Currently, 3.4 million people are acutely food insecure, and this number is projected to rise to 4.4 million between April and June — nearly a quarter of the population, Somali officials and the United Nation's humanitarian agencies said this week. The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that approximately 1.7 million children under the age of five require immediate support, with 466,000 likely to be severely acutely malnourished and at risk of death this year. "We have learned in Somalia from past experience that delays can be deadly, and we need resources to provide support to these very vulnerable groups," said WFP spokesperson Jean-Martin Bauer from Rome. He urged donors and partners to increase funding for the country of 19 million people as it faces this escalating crisis. This story originated in the Somali Service.
