Ashley Smith: A Case of Not Connecting the Dots

This article delves into the tragic case of Ashley Smith, a teenager who faced solitary confinement instead of proper counseling, resulting in her self-inflicted death. It highlights the failures in the correctional system and the need for change. The article discusses Ashley's background, the lack of attention from her parents, the harsh punishments she received, and the inadequate treatment she received in various institutions. It also examines the flaws in the judicial system and the inhumane treatment she endured in the correctional facility. The article concludes with recommendations for rectifying the mistakes made by the Correctional Services of Canada.

Running Head: ASHLEY SMITH, A CASE OF NOT CONNECTING THE DOTS
ASHLEY SMITH, A CASE OF NOT CONNECTING THE DOTS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ASHLEY SMITH, A CASE OF NOT CONNECTING THE DOTS
It is not always easy to realize the psychological changes that adolescence brings in a
human being. Sometimes such changes may seem unusual. This happened in case of Ashley
Smith, a teen-age girl, who became excessively rebellious during her adolescent period.
Unfortunately, instead of receiving proper counselling, she received solitary confinement
frequently for her defiant behavior and childish pranks. Finally, Segregation, loneliness,
inappropriate environment inside Grand Valley Institution for women in Kitchener, Ontario;
result into self-instigated strangulation of Ashley. Ashley’s death was a shock to the mass
because of two reasons. The primary workers in Grand Valley Institution who witnessed her
committing suicide, videotaped the last few moments of Ashley, instead of saving her. Again,
she had to die inside a prison though she had never committed any serious criminal offense
(Bromwich, 2017).
Ashley was born in New Brunswick in the year 1988. She was the adopted child of
Coralee Smith and Herbert Gober. Her defiant nature and disobedience became prominent,
when she stepped into her teen-age in the year 2001.Like other specially abled children she
had committed a series of blunders during her childhood, but, this was not the real cause
behind such a tragic end of her life. A detailed analysis of all the significant incidents of Ms.
Smith’s life reveals that there were several scopes for saving her life and improving her
mental health as well.
Firstly, Herb and Coralee witnessed the disruptive behavior of Ashley long before her
imprisonment. At that point of time her parents should have realized that Ashley needed to
undergo a treatment of counselling. Often teen-agers who seem non-compliant, try to find
their own selves, their potentialities, in their own ways, without following manners or rules
imposed by others. Along with counselling such children need extra care from parents and
opportunities to explore themselves. Unfortunately, this did not happen with Ashley. Even
after several suspension of Ashley from her school her parents did not felt any urgency to

2ASHLEY SMITH, A CASE OF NOT CONNECTING THE DOTS
consult a psychiatrist. Her parents could not estimate the severity of the situation until she
had to face youth court nearly 14 times at the tender age of 15 (Balfour,2017). Undergoing
the process of judgement in youth court also affected the mental health of Ashley badly.
Hence the lack of proper attention from parents is one of the most significant point which
should be highlighted here. More love and care on the part of the parents were needed. The
intervention of the youth court, could be avoided if her parents were able to evoke their
consciousness earlier. Implementing different methods of counselling would have helped
Ashley to rectify herself. The intervention of psychological tests, counselling on time would
have given Ashley a better mental health as well as a better future.
Secondly, another significant incident is that the punishment received by Ashley were
unnecessarily harsh. Once Ashley followed one of her teacher home and banged on her door
again and again. As a result, police were informed and Ashley was suspended from school for
a period of 5 days (Bromwich & Kilty, 2017). The incidences of several suspension,
intervention of police created a hostile environment for Ashley. Such unacceptance made her
more stubborn. Here, cooperation on the part of the teacher as well as school were needed.
Several steps should be implemented, to keep Ashley away from adverse situations. Instead
of calling police, the teacher should have interacted with Ashley gently, allowing her express
herself. The school should have discussed this matter with her parents and arranged
counselling. These should be the specific interventions, which would teach Ashley the
difference between the right and wrong. This positive and friendly attitude towards Ashley
would make her feel that she was not different and not alone too. In fact, these specific
interventions would improve her mental health easily and the end of her life would not be
tragic.
Thirdly, Ashley was admitted to a diagnostic and treatment center in March 2003.
There she was accused of being unruly and discharged without the proper the treatment

3ASHLEY SMITH, A CASE OF NOT CONNECTING THE DOTS
(Savarese, 2017). This is another significant incident which raised question on the treatment
of the special children in Canada. Being a special child, it was difficult for Ashley to
communicate properly, understand the severity of the situation, following the rules or
regulations of school or hospital or any other institutions. The specific intervention that could
be implemented were a special treatment by the practitioners as well as the workers realizing
the sensitivity of the situation. This was essential for her. These specific interventions could
have prevented her from committing more offenses and undergoing a long-term
imprisonment that she did not deserve. She would not be put in a situation where she had to
tolerate the putrid atmosphere of the correction centers of Canada.
Fourthly, Ashley was accused of nearly 50 criminal charges, most of which included
her misconduct to the correctional workers or the professionals in the health sector. It was the
ambivalent psychology of Ashley that provoked her again and again to commit offences.
Ashley had gone through several periods of isolation during her conviction. That was a part
of her therapeutic segregation. But this treatment casted an adverse effect upon her, she felt
extremely lonely (Chartrand, 2015). This is one of the significant incidences of Ashley’s life.
This was not only one of the major reasons behind her tragic death but also considered as a
loophole of the judicial system of Canada in the case of Ashley. The youth court should not
throw Ashley to an environment which was worsening her mental condition. Specific
interventions like observing Ashley on a regular basis, discovering the futility of the
therapeutic segregation, arranging games for amusement and mental development of Ashley,
implementing a concrete as well as consistent plan of treatment according to her mental
condition; would have cured her partially. In fact such interventions would save her from all
the tortures she had to tolerate and brought her back to a normal life.
Ashley was in her way to step into her adulthood. Unfortunately, Ashley’s behavioral
issues dragged her into court once again. She was accused of committing offense against the

4ASHLEY SMITH, A CASE OF NOT CONNECTING THE DOTS
custodial staff. Again she was found punishable under the criminal justice system for adults.
All the sentences that Ashley received previously were merged into one and she was
incarcerated for more than two years (Savarese, 2017).. In October 2006 she was transferred
to Nova Institution for Women – a federal penitentiary (LeBlanc, Kilty & Frigon, 2015). This
was one of the major significant mishaps in Ashley’s life.
This incident proved that Ashley was the victim of the inflexible, conservative,
unequal, merciless judiciary system. It was unfair to merge all the sentences into one,
especially when the convict was a special child, and had not committed any serious crime.
This was again considered one of the major faults of the judiciary system in the case of Ms.
Smith. Specific interventions were needed on the part of the judicial system to amend laws
for specially abled persons, to renovate the correction centers, to investigate whether the
correction services provided to such convicts are suitable for their mental health or not. Such
interventions would allow Ashley to undergo a scientific psychotherapy. This would in turn
help her to rectify, learn and grow in an environment of love care and empathy.
Lastly, Ashley had spent the last one year of her life in Grand Valley Institution for
Women (GVI) where she was kept inside a segregation cell. The tiles of the cell where she
stayed were removed. She was not provided the basic necessities of life- no mattress, no
blanket, no clothing except a smock, not even shoes. A few hours before her death she
expressed her desire to put an end to all her sufferings, to a primary worker of GVI. The
workers at Grand Valley Institution for Women already knew that Ashley wanted to end her
life, still they did not take any immediate action (Minaker, 2017). These are two major
significant incidences which accelerated her death On October 19 of 2007 due to self-induced
strangulation (Murray, Burgess & Holmes, 2017). There are a few factors which should be
highlighted. Instead of an effective psychotherapy she was thrown into an environment
devoid of love and care. Again, she was not even treated as a human. Nobody understood her

5ASHLEY SMITH, A CASE OF NOT CONNECTING THE DOTS
pain of alienation, boredom. She was actually the victim of the bigoted and merciless rules of
the correction center. It seems all these have been done to provoke her to commit suicide.
Specific intervention could have been made if the institution workers and the authority would
have paid a heed to whatever she told to the primary workers. Such specific interventions
include treating Ashley like a human, providing her the basic amenities of life along with
love and care, arranging proper treatment as well as amusement programs for her. These were
the essential interventions which would not only better her mental health but also make her
realize that life is worth living.
There are some other weaknesses of the Correctional Services with reference to the
case of Ashley. The Correctional Service also knew that Ms. Smith was under segregation
since 2003 and this segregation had casted a detrimental effect upon the mental health of
Ashley, still, Correctional Service did not bring any advancements in the treatment of Ashley
(Murray, Burgess & Holmes, 2017). The decision of Correctional Service to transfer Ashley
constantly from one correction center to another resulted in a delaye in the treatment of
Ashley, as, there were no consistency in the therapy provided by different institutions. The
life of this teen ager could have been saved if she had received a concrete treatment on time.
Depending on the remarks made by several reports with reference to the case of
Ashley Smith, some recommendations can be made to rectify all the mistakes of Correctional
Services of Canada (CSC). A female inmate should undergo a psychological test assessing
the probability of self-injurious behaviour, within the 72 hours of her admission to a federal
institution. Also, such patients should receive a guidance and support from the psychologists,
workers and nurses, during the 24-hour of a day. Use of solitary confinement should be
restricted to no more than 360 hours. If a therapy did not give any positive result,
improvisations should be made immediately by the doctors and all such decisions should be
made by the doctors not the CSC staffs. There should be a concrete and consistent treatment

6ASHLEY SMITH, A CASE OF NOT CONNECTING THE DOTS
plan for every inmate. An inmate should not be transferred frequently to other institutions.
Every inmate should be provided basic amenities of life. Correction centers should be
supervised by the CSC officials frequently. CSC should increase the fund and arrange
amusement programs for inmates (Minaker, 2017).
In the conclusion, it can be stated that the excruciating sufferings of Ashley raised
questions on the rights and equality of incarcerated women under the Correctional Services of
Canada. The inhuman treatment by CSC provoked Ashley to end her life. Many reports
termed the case of Ashley as ‘Homicide’, ‘A national shame’. The tragic death of Ashley has
also revealed the loopholes of the youth and adult judicial system and created a bold appeal to
bring a drastic change in the Correctional Services and flexibility in the laws for specially
abled convicts.

7ASHLEY SMITH, A CASE OF NOT CONNECTING THE DOTS
References
Balfour, G. (2017). It’s Your Job to Save Me: The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers
and the Death of Ashley Smith. Canadian Journal of Law & Society/La Revue
Canadienne Droit et Société, 32(2), 209-228.
Bromwich, R. (2017). Theorizing the Official Record of Inmate Ashley Smith: Necropolitics,
Exclusions, and Multiple Agencies. Man. LJ, 40, 193.
Bromwich, R., & Kilty, J. M. (2017). Introduction: Law, Vulnerability, and Segregation:
What Have We Learned from Ashley Smith’s Carceral Death?. Canadian Journal of
Law & Society/La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société, 32(2), 157-164.
Cbc.ca. (2019). Behind the Wall - Episodes - The Fifth Estate. Retrieved from
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2010-2011/behind-the-wall
Chartrand, V. (2015). Landscapes of Violence. Women and Canadian Prisons. Champ
penal/Penal field, 12.
LeBlanc, N., Kilty, J. M., & Frigon, S. (2015). Examining the preventable but predictable
death of Ashley Smith. International journal of prisoner health, 11(3), 126-140.
Minaker, J. (2017). Appreciating Ashley: Learning About and From the Life and Death of
Ashley Smith through Feminist Pedagogy. Canadian Journal of Law & Society/La
Revue Canadienne Droit et Société, 32(2), 291-306.
Murray, S. J., Burgess, S., & Holmes, D. (2017). The death of Ashley Smith: Between the
biopolitics of imprisonment and judicial sovereignty. Sociétés, (2), 73-90.
Richard, B. (2008). The Ashley Smith Report. Fredericton: Office of the Ombudsman and
Child and Youth Advocate.

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Savarese, J. L. (2017). Leaving a Light on for Ash: Explorations into the Activist Mothering
of Coralee Smith (Mother of Ashley Smith, 1988-2007). Journal of the Motherhood
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