Jurors at inquest of man killed at Don Jail call for more training

The mother of a man murdered at Toronto's now-shuttered Don Jail 15 years ago says she is encouraged by improvements made to inmate safety, but jurors at his inquest say more training is needed for guards at the facility that has replaced the one where he died.

Troy Campbell murdered Jeffrey Munro, 31, in the Don Jail's special needs unitin November 2009 after Munro ate half a bag of chips that belonged to Campbell, according to an agreed statement of facts. Both men had a history of schizophrenia and Munro was fighting a drug addiction.

Campbell pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2012. The inquest, mandatory after deaths in custody, was meant to look at the circumstances of his death and make recommendations. While the inquests carry no criminal liability, jurors are tasked with determining the manner of death, which they said was a homicide due to blunt impact facial injuries.

"Things have really come a long way since what has happened to my son," Christine Munro said in an interview with CBC Toronto after the inquest.

"It's really, really good to hear. Will it bring my son back? No. But it was a different day and it was a different time and the Don Jail was much different than [the facility that's replaced it]."

Key changes but concerns persist

The inquest heard that the Toronto South Detention Centre, which replaced the Don Jail in 2014, has emergency call buttons in cells and its layout allows for better supervision important changes after Munro was found unresponsive in his cell, two hours after his assault was first witnessed around 5:30 p.m.

Additionally, when Munro did not show up to receive his medication around 6:30 p.m., nobody went to check why. When that happens at Toronto South today, a nurse is dispatched to check on the inmate, according to a lawyer for the Ministry of the Solicitor General who took part in the inquest.

While the ministry touted those changes, concerns about Toronto South have been raised in recent years by advocates, the Ontario Human Rights Commission and a provincial judge, particularly around the use of lockdowns at the facility.

In 2020, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) published a report on conditions at Toronto South, and found multiple issues, including management and front-line workers "routinely using segregation" that raised "serious human rights concerns."

In a March decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy called conditions at the jail "deplorable," "intolerable" and "excessively harsh." Molloy wrote the biggest problem at the jail is its recurring lockdown.

Jury recommends increased mental health training

Jurors at Munro's inquest put forward five non-binding recommendations around how correctional officers deal with inmates experiencing mental health issues, which were originally proposed by the counsel for the Office of the Chief Coroner.

The recommendations are:

• The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) should provide recurring specialized mental health training to officers working in special housing units.

• Explore the availability of funds to implement the first recommendation.

• Review all training created by CAMH for Toronto South staff and determine if it should be mandatory.

• Ensure a planned staffing audit is completed and that it considers if the current staffing model prioritizes safety.

• Explore the introduction of a CAMH program to more correctional facilities in the province, known as the Forensic Early Intervention Service (FEIS). FEIS supports people in prison whose mental illness puts them at risk of being unfit to stand trial to more facilities in the province.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General, who oversees correctional services, said in an email it will carefully review the recommendations.

Munro's cell was a blindspot, guards say

Jurors at the inquest heard Jeff Munro was beaten to death in a cell that was considered a blindspot by guards, something the lawyer for the solicitor general stressed no longer exists in Toronto South.

Kristin Smith, the inquest counsel, told the jury the Don Jail had a "culture and design" that did not prevent inmates from being attacked.

The assault was first witnessed around 5:30 p.m. but Munro's body wasn't found until about two hours later, when a guard called in a medical alert at 7:37 p.m. That's despite the fact that a patrol by the guards at 6 p.m. found everything to be in order.

A guard on duty that evening said that from where guards would observe the cells, a person lying in Munro's bed would be "pretty much hidden from view."

A life of 'love, shared laughter, hugs and tears'

With the inquest complete,Munro's mother said she wants the public to remember that Jeff didn't deserve what happened to him. She said he was a successful person who was following his passion as a professional dancer, butwas in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was introduced to drugs.

"He was instantly addicted and his world became a downward spiral and it was extremely sad for all of us involved," she said.

During her opening statement at the inquest, Munro remembered her son's life as one filled with "love, shared laughter, hugs and tears."

"What happened to Jeff should never have happened," she told CBC News. "And I will never change my mind on that."