More than 450 people have been illegally detained in Quebec in a decade, reveals an investigation by the “Globe and Mail” published on Saturday.
According to data obtained by the daily via the Access to Information Act, at least 454 detainees spent at least one day in illegal detention in Quebec prisons between January 2012 and March 2022. It should be noted that the data for 2023 and part of 2024 not available.
Of the number, 53 have spent at least one extra week behind bars. One inmate even spent nearly three months at the Quebec Detention Center when he should have been released.
Inmates remained in prison for a variety of reasons, ranging from miscalculations of their sentence lengths to misidentifications.
Solicited by the “Globe”, the Ministry of Public Security of Quebec minimized the number of errors, described as “rare” given the more than 400,000 inmates incarcerated during the last decade.
These errors are nevertheless frequent enough for the ministry to devote a page to them on its website, on which there is a form designed specifically to claim compensation in the event of detention longer than expected.
The presence of detainees in provincial establishments when they should have been released had been brought to light last December with the death of Nicous d’Andre Spring, killed in Bordeaux prison on Christmas Eve following a an altercation with correctional officers.
However, the man should not be in prison. He should have been released on December 23, after appearing in court.
Public inquiries are underway in this case.