Inmates in Newfoundland jail say they feel hopeless, alone and increasingly unwell
CTV
Inmates inside Newfoundland's notorious, Victorian-era jail say their mental health is deteriorating as they are allegedly locked in their cellblocks for days and denied visits with their families.
Inmates inside Newfoundland's notorious, Victorian-era jail say their mental health is deteriorating as they are allegedly locked in their cellblocks for days and denied visits with their families.
Jonathan Payne was distraught as he described feeling rodents crawl over his body while he tried to seek relief from the sweltering heat inside Her Majesty's Penitentiary by sleeping on the concrete floor.
He said in a recent phone call from the St. John's jail that he had only been outside a few times all summer, and that staffing shortages had led to cancelled visits with his family -- even those scheduled for video.
Inmate Kevin Reid says men inside the St. John's jail feel they can't show any vulnerability or emotion, and that as their distress grows, they have nobody to turn to about their deteriorating mental state.
He said in a phone call that recreation, including time in the gym, has been cut back drastically due to staffing shortages, eliminating a crucial outlet for inmates to work off increasing tension.
The province's Justice Department was not immediately available for comment.
Officials confirmed last week that an inmate died at the 164-year-old jail, and Payne and Reid say they have been offered no counselling to deal with the death, adding that they rarely have access to counsellors or psychologists at all.
