The inquest probing the prison-cell death of New Brunswick teenager Ashley Smith is targeted to resume Sept. 12 in Toronto, the Ontario coroner's office said Tuesday.
The same five jurors on duty when the hearings began last month will be on duty when proceedings resume. They were halted this spring following criticism over the coroner's handling of the inquiry.
The jurors heard three days of evidence before being dismissed so discussions could be held about what exhibits should be accessible to the public and media.
Ontario's divisional court overruled deputy chief coroner Dr. Bonita Porter, and demanded she reconsider the inclusion of videos of prison staff at Joliette Institution in Quebec who were threatening and administering injections of anti-psychotic drugs against the teenager's will — something one prison psychologist deemed was illegal.
The coroner has also faced stiff opposition by Smith's family, Ontario's Advocate for Children and Youth, the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, and numerous media organizations, over secrecy and attempts to limit access to the evidence at the public hearing.
On Tuesday, the coroner reconsidered and is now even examining a proposal to webcast the entire proceedings — including videotapes of guards' treatment of Smith in the months leading up to her death by self-strangulation. If the webcast is allowed, it would overrule demands by Corrections Canada that faces and identities of staff be blurred before they are played for the public.
Smith, who was originally from Moncton and was 19 when she died, choked herself with a strip of cloth at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont., in October 2007. Video evidence shows staff failed to respond immediately to the emergency.
Smith was originally given a 90-day sentence for throwing crab apples at a postal worker, but incidents she was involved in while in custody kept extending her time in jail.
