TORONTO — A coroner’s inquest examining the case of a mentally ill man who died in an Ontario jail cell nearly seven years ago is set to continue today.
It’s the third day of the inquest into the death of Soleiman Faqiri, a 30-year-old man who had been arrested after allegedly stabbing a neighbour while in a mental-health crisis.
Faqiri died after a violent struggle with corrections officers on Dec. 15, 2016, less than two weeks after he was taken into custody at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont.
The inquest has heard his condition worsened while he was at the jail but he never saw a psychiatrist, and he was deemed too unwell to attend a video assessment of his fitness to stand trial.
On Tuesday, jurors heard from Canada’s former correctional investigator, who gave them an overview of the correctional system.
Howard Sapers told them that going into custody can cause significant disruptions to health care because people no longer have access to their doctor and may not be able to get the same medication.