MORE EVIDENCE AT THE ASHLEY SMITH INQUEST

Another day and another guard on the stand at the inquest into the death of Ashley Smith while in custody in Kitchener at the Grand Valley Institution for Women. It's beginning to seriously look like the institution should be renamed as the Grand Valley Institution for Woeful Managaement. One more guard under oath is claiming that managers at the facility "...were discouraging officers from entering Smith's cell when she tied ligatures around her neck.". Furthermore "The inquest has heard that managers were growing concerned that too many "use of force" reports were being submitted by guards...". Clearly too many paper reports are serious grounds for putting a human beings life at stake if you're a manager at Grand Valley.

The other new information provided by Gaetan Desrochers was that while he was in Ashley Smith's cell trying to calm her down, he was advised to leave her cell. "Under no circumstances do you leave a suicidal person and walk away". Apparently his understanding and common sense was not shared by others within the institution. Finally the deputy warden of the institution took it upon herself to write him up for allegedly not introducing himself to Ms. Smith when he first entered her cell. Mr. Desrochers explained that that was just silly as he and Ms. Smith were well acquainted over numerous interactions over a lenghty time frame. Today's article in the Waterloo Region Record is titled "Guard says he was told to leave Smith strangling".