 |
| Ron Dalton |
A coroner’s inquest made recommendations for such basic improvements as operational emergency alarm signals in segregation cells, a functional time clock to ensure hourly checks by guards and emergency first aid training for all Millhaven institutional staff.
Nalon’s death was not enough to save Robert (Bobby) Landers, who died in segregation at Millhaven Institution a year and a half later when his emergency alarm signal did not function. The long-term prisoners at Millhaven organized a series of committees to demand improvements to the prison conditions, commencing with implementation of the recommendation of the inquiries into the deaths of Nalon and Landers.
On the first anniversary of Nalon’s death, prisoners at Millhaven observed a day of mourning and six of them participated in an 18-day hunger strike. The next year, on Aug. 10, 1976, prisoners in several prisons organized a nonviolent protest consisting of a one-day hunger strike and refusal to work. Their protests were met with institutional charges resulting in solitary confinement and involuntary transfer to higher-security penitentiaries.
Undaunted, protesters continued to lobby within our penitentiaries and, with some community support, demanded various human rights improvements. The idea of Prisoners’ Justice Day spread throughout Canadian penitentiaries and then internationally. On Aug.10, 1979, Prisoners’ Justice Day protesters issued a list of demands, including:
- The right to meaningful work with fair wages.
- The right to useful education and training.
- The right to proper medical attention.
- The right to freedom of speech and religion.
- The right to adequate legal services.
They also advocated for reforms to solitary confinement and the over-incarceration of marginalized groups.
I wish I could say that those reasonable demands were addressed in the intervening years, but the reality is many of those areas of prison life are actually worse now than they were then. We do prisoners and our society at large a disservice when we fail to do everything in our power to address the underlying causes of incarceration by including the broken members of society and giving them an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. The humanity of our collective social arrangement is reflected in the way we treat those most in need of our forgiveness and assistance and the experience of the past 50 years suggests we have much yet to learn.
For my part, I will be fasting in solidarity with prisoners everywhere on Aug. 10 as I take time to reflect on and respect the lives lost to the struggle against unjust treatment. A day without food will likely do me good and the reminder of the sacrifices made may well serve as inspiration to remember that we are all better than the worst thing we have ever done. I spent 10 years in prison for a crime I did not commit and volunteer some of my time advocating for other wrongly convicted individuals, but I write these words not in my volunteer capacity but in my private capacity as a former prisoner who remembers.
In 1988, Ron Dalton was a 32-year-old bank manager when he was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. It took the next 12 years to prove his innocence, restore his freedom and return him to his family, including the couple’s three children. Since that ordeal, Dalton has tried to reintegrate into family life and earn a living, and he is co-chair of Innocence Canada, a nonprofit organization working to free other wrongly convicted individuals.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
Interested in writing for us? To learn more about how you can add your voice to Law360 Canada, contact Analysis Editor Peter Carter at peter.carter@lexisnexis.ca or call 647-776-6740.