'Tear it down and build a new one,' London lawyer says of troubled jail

A London-based lawyer says the troubled Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre should be torn down and replaced with a more modern facility in order to stop the increasing violence at the provincial jail.

Questions have arisen about the safety of inmates after a London judge released security camera video from 2013 that showed one inmate killing his cellmate and then hiding the body without guards at facility seeming to notice.

"That, as tragic and horrible as it is, doesn't come as a big surprise to a lot of defence lawyers," GordCudmoresaid of the video released by the court on Wednesday.

It's becoming more and more common for assaults, fights, people being attacked, people dying.- Gord Cudmore

As a criminal defence lawyer, Cudmorehas made the trip from his downtown London practice to visit clients atthe provincial jail located on the city's southern rim on Exeter Road many times.

Client hospitalized after jail beating

"I have a client in there now. He was taken into custody Friday and was beaten so badly he had to be taken to the hospital on Saturday."

"It's becoming more and more common for assaults, fights, people being attacked, people dying," he said, noting the 40-year-old facility is overcrowded, understaffed and poorly designed.

Cudmoresays poor sight linesin the jail meanguards can'tadequately supervise prisoners, who are often billeted two or three to acell that was originally designedforone.

"If something happens in a cell, the guards can't see it," he said.

'Very isolated and lonely'

'Most people I know have had some kind of violent encounter'

7 years ago

Duration 0:19

Community mental health outreach worker Mechele teBrake says its common to hear about violent experiences from the people who have been forced to stay at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre

MecheleteBrake, who is a community mental health outreach worker with Mission Services of London, oftenworks with people who have spent time at the Elgin MiddlesexDetention Centre.

She said violence is a common experience for people who end up in the jail.

"I think that it's part of the culture," she said."It's kind of a culture of don't trust anyone and it's survival mode for a lot of folks in the experiences I've heard."

Worst of all, teBrakesaid, many people who go to jail with mental illnesses can be takenoff their medications, which can have life-altering consequences.

Mentally ill forced to 'start over again'

"It can be very traumatic," she said."Prescriptions get changed, which changes how a person feels or even a person behaves. Then, when they get released, there's not really a continuing care plan."

Much ofteBrake'swork involves helping people find a doctor, or housing after they've been released from jail, which she said is extremely complicated for someone with a mental illness who recently changed their medication.

"They have to start over again," she said.

In terms of how to fix the system, teBrake said it's a matter of giving people the life skills and the supports they need in jails in order to prepare them for life on the outside.

Protecting prisoners 'doesn't sell'

The Ontario Liberal government has promised to overhaul the province's corrections system with new legislation this fall, aimed at rewriting the Ontario Corrections Act, which hasn't been updated in more than three decades.

"I'm not optimistic," lawyer GordCudmore said from his downtown London law practice."The state doesn't care enough."

"There's no political advantage to taking steps to makingprisoners safe."

"It's one thing to say we'll put money into healthcare or education, but to put money in the prison system, that's not going to win you any votes.

"It doesn't sell."