Judge issues final report in Howard Hyde inquiry
Posted Dec 8, 2010 02:27:09 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The judge heading the inquiry into the jail cell death of Howard Hyde, a mentally ill Nova Scotia man, is rejecting a medical examiner’s testimony that Hyde died of excited delirium, a condition arising due to paranoid schizophrenia.
Ann Derrick led an 11-month long inquiry into Hyde’s death at the Burnside jail in November of 2007. Her final report released Wednesday says his death was accidental and was likely caused by a struggle with jail guards.
The 460-page report says the restraint techniques used by some of the guards may have made it tough for Hyde to breathe.
The case garnered national attention because Hyde’s death came about 30 hours after he was Tasered five times by Halifax Regional Police. Derrick’s report clearly states the Tasering did not contribute to the fatality.
Meantime, Justice Minister Ross Landry says the overall results of Derrick’s report, including 80 recommendations to help protect people with mental illness, are welcome.
“We have done some of them already,” he says. “I think what’s important here is we take time to study the full depth of that report. That we look at what we haven’t accomplished already and how do we implement those positive changes to move our system forward to ensure the safety of all that are in our institutions.”
Landry says the government is now working with police and correctional officers to ensure staff know how to properly deal with mentally ill inmates.
