ASHLEY SMITH INQUEST RESUMES AFTER TWO MONTH BREAK

Yesterday's Waterloo Region Record carried this story "Wardens could hold the key in Ashley Smith case". Deputy Warden Joanna Pauline and Cindy Berry the acting Warden are expected to testify in the coming weeks. The acting Warden had been fired shortly after Smith's death because Correctional Services Canada claimed that her subordinates had misinterpreted or misunderstood her concerns and that she Cindy Berry had failed to clarify her position with them. Frankly to me that sounds like a ton of hooey and bureaucratese coming from CSC. Many have testified that the guards were most emphatically told to stay out of Ashley Smith's cell until she stopped breathing. They followed orders after repeated pressure and prompting and the result was one dead young inmate. There are also suggestions that senior management at the Grand Valley Institution were also on pins and needles and trying not to attract attention from head office CSC due to ongoing use of force reports in regards to removing ligatures from Ashley Smith's neck. What has become clearer over time is that the ridiculous behaviour of the guards was very much directly ordered from above. Exactly how far above we have yet to learn.