Judge issues stay in case of Adam Capay, who spent years in solitary confinement
In a rare move, Thunder Bay judge stays murder charges
As the Globe and Mail reports today, a judge has stayed murder charges against a young Indigenous man, Adam Capay, who spent four and a half years in solitary confinement awaiting trial.
Mr. Capay was charged with murder of a fellow inmate in a correctional centre in 2012. As the Globe reported last year, Ontario’s chief human rights commissioner visited Thunder Bay prison in 2016, where a correctional officer suggested that she ask prison management about Mr. Capay. She discovered that Mr. Capay, who suffers from mental health issues, was being held in solitary confinement, in an acrylic glass cell. He had difficulty speaking because of a lack of human contact, and it was difficult for him to discern night from day since the lights were always turned on. He had been living in these conditions for more than four years. After a public outcry and widespread criticism, Mr. Capay was transferred to a hospital.
GP’s Adriel Weaver and co-counsel Karen Symes argued that the charges against Mr. Capay should be stayed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
A Thunder Bay judge granted that request today. His reason for decision are under a publication ban for a few weeks while the Crown determines whether to appeal.