The fifth estate documentary series exposes the holes in Canada’s prison system in Ashley Smith: Out of Control, a harrowing and provocative investigation into the tragic death of a young prisoner.
Smith was adopted shortly after her birth. Their home is like a traditional loving family. Her behavioral problems began in adolescence and were characterized by aggression and poor academic performance. She was jailed for assaulting a public official after throwing a crabapple at a postman. Sentences that are considered short-term prison sentences run up to several years and several institutions. Her journey culminated in her tragic suicide at the Grand Valley Institution in Kitchener, Ontario.
At the heart of the film is never-before-seen surveillance footage showing Smith being subjected to a series of corporal punishments by prison officers, including painful pepper spray, 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement, lack of proper toiletries, and savage coercion.
Smith apparently suffered from some form of undiagnosed mental illness. The prison system was not prepared to deal with their stubborn behaviour; indeed, the disciplinary abuse she suffered only exacerbated her already fragile condition. Amazingly, Smith’s treatment in these prisons was touted as therapeutic. It was clear that she wasn’t getting the compassionate recovery that could have changed the trajectory of her life.
As part of the investigation, filmmakers spoke to Smith’s grieving parents, fellow inmates and correctional officials. Together, they paint a vivid, flesh-and-blood portrait of a young girl overcome by the delirium in her head, the apathy of her capture, and the hell around her.
Smith’s story is not alone. In rural Canada, mentally ill prisoners are routinely moved from one prison to another. The inhumane treatment further destabilized their mental instability, often prompting them to commit increasingly violent crimes. This is a vicious cycle of betrayal of the purposes of the Reformation.
Ashlee Smith: Out of Control is a powerful indictment of a badly broken system and a deeply disturbing account of one of its victims.
