05/30/2026
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The correctional officers are exonerated and acquitted in the Ashley Smith case.
This morning, during the third week of a preliminary inquiry in Kitchener, Ontario, a judge accepted the Crown prosecutors' recommendation to acquit three correctional officers at the Grand Valley Institution for Women of all charges of criminal negligence causing death. The three officers had been charged on October 23, 2007, following the death of a young inmate, Ashley Smith, at the institution on October 19, 2007.
The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO-SACC-CSN) strongly welcomes this decision, which exonerates these correctional officers without a shadow of a doubt.
“As we have said from the beginning, these correctional officers are innocent of any wrongdoing in the death of this inmate,” said Jason Godin, Ontario Regional President of UCCO-SACC-CSN. “Once again, we want to offer our condolences to Ashley Smith’s family. However, it is important to note that this decision demonstrates that these correctional officers did everything they could to save Ashley Smith’s life under extremely difficult circumstances.”
UCCO-SACC-CSN National President Pierre Mallette congratulated federal correctional officers at Grand Valley Institution and across Canada for supporting their colleagues during the most difficult times. "As a union, we are particularly proud of the efforts made by our members who stood up and demanded justice," he stated.
However, Mr. Mallette deplores the treatment the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has given to the correctional officers at Grand Valley Institution. Indeed, four other correctional officers were suspended without pay for a period of three months, and he notes that the three correctional officers exonerated today were dismissed by the CSC and their reputations have been tarnished in their community.
“The employer should have supported its frontline staff,” Mr. Mallette insisted. “Instead, the CSC let them down, which made them appear guilty. In light of today’s decision, it is absolutely essential that the CSC correct its mistakes.”
In the long term, UCCO-SACC-CSN hopes that lessons will be learned from this tragic case. Last October, the union published a report entitled "Hasty Judgment," which details Ashley Smith's year spent in federal prison (the report is available online at The correctional officers are exonerated and acquitted in the Ashley Smith case. (https://ucco-sacc-csn.ca/assets/uploads/2019/04/Full-Report-A-Rush-to-Judgment1-1.pdf)
This morning, during the third week of a preliminary inquiry in Kitchener, Ontario, a judge accepted the Crown prosecutors' recommendation to acquit three correctional officers at the Grand Valley Institution for Women of all charges of criminal negligence causing death. The three officers had been charged on October 23, 2007, following the death of a young inmate, Ashley Smith, at the institution on October 19, 2007.
The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO-SACC-CSN) strongly welcomes this decision, which exonerates these correctional officers without a shadow of a doubt.
“As we have said from the beginning, these correctional officers are innocent of any wrongdoing in the death of this inmate,” said Jason Godin, Ontario Regional President of UCCO-SACC-CSN. “Once again, we want to offer our condolences to Ashley Smith’s family. However, it is important to note that this decision demonstrates that these correctional officers did everything they could to save Ashley Smith’s life under extremely difficult circumstances.”
UCCO-SACC-CSN National President Pierre Mallette congratulated federal correctional officers at Grand Valley Institution and across Canada for supporting their colleagues during the most difficult times. "As a union, we are particularly proud of the efforts made by our members who stood up and demanded justice," he stated.
However, Mr. Mallette deplores the treatment the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has given to the correctional officers at Grand Valley Institution. Indeed, four other correctional officers were suspended without pay for a period of three months, and he notes that the three correctional officers exonerated today were dismissed by the CSC and their reputations have been tarnished in their community.
“The employer should have supported its frontline staff,” Mr. Mallette insisted. “Instead, the CSC let them down, which made them appear guilty. In light of today’s decision, it is absolutely essential that the CSC correct its mistakes.”
In the long term, UCCO-SACC-CSN hopes that lessons will be learned from this tragic case. Last October, the union published a report entitled "Hasty Judgment," which details Ashley Smith's year spent in federal prison (the report is available online).
The report details Ashley Smith's propensity for violence and self-harm, particularly her persistent habit of attempting to strangle herself with various types of fabric cords until she lost consciousness. At the various facilities where she was held during her federal detention, Correctional Service (CSC) management instructed correctional officers not to intervene during these incidents unless she stopped breathing. At Grand Valley Institution, management even organized a mandatory training session to ensure that correctional officers refrained from entering Ashley Smith's cell during her almost daily attempts to strangle herself.
The union report indicated that Ashley Smith spent almost her entire stay in the federal institution confined to a solitary confinement cell. Like other high-risk offenders, she had no access to any programs or paid work and could only have verbal contact with other disturbed and high-risk inmates in the segregation units.
UCCO-SACC-CSN is lobbying for the establishment of a special detention unit for high-risk female offenders—similar to the one that exists for male inmates. As outlined in a proposal made by the union in 2005, this unit would allow for greater participation in programs and activities, enabling high-risk female offenders to subsequently reintegrate into the maximum-security population in a healthier and safer manner.
“We are very pleased with today’s decision,” Jason Godin reiterated. “However, we know that we will have a lot of work ahead of us to advocate for and implement the reforms we need to make women’s prisons in Canada more humane and safer. Ashley Smith’s death was unnecessary, but we hope it will not be in vain.”
Source: CSN — December 8, 2008 ).
