News (Media Awareness Project) - CN AB: Jail Death Reflects Drug Culture, Report Says |
| Title: | CN AB: Jail Death Reflects Drug Culture, Report Says |
| Published On: | 2011-09-07 |
| Source: | Calgary Herald (CN AB) |
| Fetched On: | 2011-09-09 06:01:03 |
JAIL DEATH REFLECTS DRUG CULTURE, REPORT SAYS
The death of a Drumheller inmate who overdosed behind bars was
accidental, but is also proof that prisons are still battling a drug culture.
A fatality inquiry into the death of Kory Stewart Mountain has ruled
his death was accidental and that staff made no errors.
Mountain, 40, was found unconscious in his cell at Drumheller
Institution on Dec. 2, 2008. He was serving a two-year sentence after
being convicted of selling cocaine and had a lifelong criminal record
and addiction to drugs.
Although he took sobriety programming in jail, Mountain, who was a
member of the Redd Alert gang, was caught with illicit drugs smuggled
into the jail.
"The so-called 'war on drugs' is, in my humble view, a war which
cannot be won," fatality inquiry Judge Les Grieve wrote in a report
released Tuesday. "Society does not seem committed to this battle, as
can be seen by sports heroes and other celebrity role models who use
drugs, even smuggle them, yet are still revered by the masses. It may
be that all we can hope for in this war is to keep the casualties to
a minimum."
When Mountain didn't answer a page for his scheduled urine test on
Dec. 2, 2008, guards found him unconscious in his cell. He was taken
to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy found morphine, ecstasy and marijuana in Mountain's bloodstream.
Mountain was also found to be suffering from bronchopneumonia, which
made it hard for him to breathe. There were enough drugs in his
system to suppress his central nervous system, according to a
toxicology report.
There were no deficiencies in the care given to Mountain by staff,
the judge wrote.
Mountain's death was a sad outcome of an equally tragic life --
suicide, violence and addiction claimed the lives of most of his
family members. He suffered abuse as a child and turned to crime and
drugs early on.
Grieve also wrote the federal government should continue to emphasize
the education of young native people and continue funding drug
addiction treatment programs.
The death of a Drumheller inmate who overdosed behind bars was
accidental, but is also proof that prisons are still battling a drug culture.
A fatality inquiry into the death of Kory Stewart Mountain has ruled
his death was accidental and that staff made no errors.
Mountain, 40, was found unconscious in his cell at Drumheller
Institution on Dec. 2, 2008. He was serving a two-year sentence after
being convicted of selling cocaine and had a lifelong criminal record
and addiction to drugs.
Although he took sobriety programming in jail, Mountain, who was a
member of the Redd Alert gang, was caught with illicit drugs smuggled
into the jail.
"The so-called 'war on drugs' is, in my humble view, a war which
cannot be won," fatality inquiry Judge Les Grieve wrote in a report
released Tuesday. "Society does not seem committed to this battle, as
can be seen by sports heroes and other celebrity role models who use
drugs, even smuggle them, yet are still revered by the masses. It may
be that all we can hope for in this war is to keep the casualties to
a minimum."
When Mountain didn't answer a page for his scheduled urine test on
Dec. 2, 2008, guards found him unconscious in his cell. He was taken
to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy found morphine, ecstasy and marijuana in Mountain's bloodstream.
Mountain was also found to be suffering from bronchopneumonia, which
made it hard for him to breathe. There were enough drugs in his
system to suppress his central nervous system, according to a
toxicology report.
There were no deficiencies in the care given to Mountain by staff,
the judge wrote.
Mountain's death was a sad outcome of an equally tragic life --
suicide, violence and addiction claimed the lives of most of his
family members. He suffered abuse as a child and turned to crime and
drugs early on.
Grieve also wrote the federal government should continue to emphasize
the education of young native people and continue funding drug
addiction treatment programs.
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