Gov't. granted right to intervene in hunger strike
A Yukon Supreme Court judge has granted the territorial government the right to intervene in the case of an inmate who has been consuming nothing but liquids for the last five months.
A Yukon Supreme Court judge has granted the territorial government the right to intervene in the case of an inmate who has been consuming nothing but liquids for the last five months.
Mark McDiarmid appeared in Yukon Supreme Court this morning for the hearing, which lasted only 30 minutes.
Dressed in black, he looked gaunt, and his clothes hung off his frame. He told the judge he has lost 79 lbs. in his 158-day protest.
Under the first of its kind court order in the territory, if the corrections branch believes McDiarmid's health is at risk, officials can intervene and force him to a hospital with or without his consent.
The order also requires he begin a diet that would get him back to eating solid food, under a doctor's care.
The 34-year-old woodcutter from Dawson City has been representing himself throughout all of his court appearances. He did not have a lawyer present at this morning's hearing.
He raised few objections to the order itself, other than to say he was concerned about setting a precedent for future people who may want to protest this way.
McDiarmid said he was willing to comply.
"The right to die is generally recognized,” Justice Ron Veale told McDiarmid.
"I don't want that,” McDiarmid said.
"I can see you want to go to Dawson and fight your case,” the judge responded.
McDiarmid is facing a string of charges and a number of different upcoming trials. The most serious charges are accusations of attempting to murder police officers.
Jury summonses have already been sent out for a trial in Dawson at the end of April on some of the charges.
A publication ban has been placed on any evidence relating to the charges against McDiarmid, who was shot by Dawson RCMP during his arrest in October 2011.
He has been in jail ever since.
About a year after his arrest, he began consuming nothing but tea and other fluids.
The Department of Justice initially refused to confirm the hunger strike, but public attention eventually forced its hand.
McDiarmid told Veale he went to the hospital last week and was willing to get back to eating again (as was reported by the Department of Justice).
However, no one from the corrections branch met with him to discuss how that would happen.
He said he is concerned about the food he would get and whether it would be enough to put on weight in a healthy way.
Much of McDiarmid's protest has surrounded the access inmates have to food at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre.
He insists they are not receiving the portion sizes and calorie amounts the Department of Justice claims they are.
On top of that, he said, a large portion of the calories listed by the government are made up by sugary juices with little nutritional value.
"Anyone who doesn't buy their own food is hungry within hours,” he told the judge.
The department has repeatedly denied that inmates are getting insufficient calories.
In court today, government lawyer Judith Hartling said government officials have met to discuss the concerns over the food. The calorie count and meals at the jail have been approved by a dietary professional, she said.
McDiarmid asked the judge to order the jail give him specific extra food so he can get back to a healthy weight.
He also asked to be moved from the special care unit, where he has been staying, back into general population so he can trade food with the other inmates.
Veale said he couldn't make those orders, but noted that Hartling was making notes and could take those concerns back to the Justice department.
McDiarmid also told the judge inmates are not getting sufficient access to legal books to help them prepare their cases.
He said there are only 20 legal books available for the entire population of the jail.
Inmates should be permitted access to websites like Lexis-Nexis, a database of legal cases and rulings, he said.
McDiarmid is next scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
Comments (6)
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soldier piper on Apr 2, 2013 at 2:54 am
Let the loser starve.Prisoners are treated way to good in this part of the world.
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Bitter Blue on Mar 30, 2013 at 6:58 am
Some of us Yukon citizens are judgmental. No need for facts when you have a skewed scheme that lacks wisdom. Schemata have a tendency to remain unchanged, even in the face of contradictory information, so there is no point in arguing about McDiarmid, with judgmental commentors. A closed mind is a comfortable place.
Mark, if you find yourself reading close-minded comments, I would ignore them and keep pushing on your case. Knowing there is more to the story, I hope you get your side of it out to a reporter, in court. Good luck!
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elaine stewart on Mar 30, 2013 at 6:19 am
What a surprise, someone tries to bring attention to issues that should be important to all of us and the court backs our government to hide the issues about their unsupported over budget jail that this territory needed like a hole in the head. And now to staff and run this fancy new prison we as tax payers will bare the burden of its costs and sooner or later of its defects - so bravo Yukon Justice thanks for slamming the door on the people who pay your wages and again ignoring the issues that are riddled with problems and maybe if we all close our eyes the problem will go away. And to the inmate who was responsible for this costly court case shame on you we as Canadians all reserve the right to express ourselves but your rights as a inmate are drastically reduced and doing harm to oneself to be heard is in my opinion only unacceptable behavior and in poor taste. Innocent till proven guilty yes but if our courts decide that you pose a threat to our community or to yourself which they must have concluded for you to still be there, man up you made the bed your sleeping in. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself why not use the time you have to figure out why you're there and how to stay out next time. Find the proper channels to get your point heard in due process and not on your time clock and maybe people here in the law abiding part of society will hear you and help you.
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Arn Anderson on Mar 28, 2013 at 1:37 pm
Benson_girl
Wow, another "guilty until proven innocent" person which is there is no shortage of. Your logic is questionable and took the "taxpayer" route. Obviously NO ONE was listening to his concerns in jail, this is how HE CHOSE to express his doubts in our wonderful system backed by people like you who want to condemn him. You know what, take all your money out the bank and go pay some taxes to make you feel better to rent some pandas from China. Our temporary privileges is under assault not only from the government, the judicial system but from the uninformed and inept quick to judge public population.
Read up on "convicts" wrongly executed and incarcerated.
I normally don't agree with the Media but at least the Star is reporting this and making the story publicly shared.
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June Jackson on Mar 28, 2013 at 9:10 am
I believe the law says a person has the right to do whatever they want with their body. The government does not have the right to interfere with McDiarmids choice. Certainly, if women have the choice so do men.
You are a criminal, and I don't care about you. The instant you decided to step outside of the law, you lost the right to most of your choices. Because the government is being a wuzzie you are getting more attention than 3 year olds in line at the food bank, which is where the attention deserves to be.. I totally agree with Benson_girl. You make your choice..RIP.
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Benson_girl on Mar 28, 2013 at 9:01 am
Seriously??? This guy should be left to starve himself if that is really what he wants. I cannot believe my money is being wasted fighting legal battle for this guy. He went to the hospital to be weaned back onto food and he again decided to go back to starving himself. He did not like what was being offered in the hospital anymore than the jail. Well, too damn bad. If you break the law and get incarcerated, you get what you get.
Let's use taxpayer money for real problems, not made up ones.