Shielded from Public View: An Analysis of the Media’s Construction of Deaths in Canadian Custody

This study explores how the deaths of four incarcerated individuals are constructed by Canadian news media outlets.For this research, I conducted a multiple case study concerning the deaths of Edward Snowshoe, Kinew James, Matthew Hines and Adam Kargus, all of whom died while incarcerated in a provincial or federal facility in Canada.Rooted in a cultural criminology framework and, utilizing Brown's (2009) concept of penal spectatorship and Butler's (2004) concept of grievable life, I explore how the media presents the deaths of these individuals in ways that may confer or restrict grievability and how these representations may undermine or reinforce the legitimacy of the prison.The findings of this research suggest that while these narratives may present certain criticisms of the prison, they ultimately rely on a framework, which reinforces the necessity of the prison and subjugates other forms of critical knowledge. Chapter One: Introducing the ResearchKinew James was a 35-year-old Indigenous woman who died while incarcerated at the Regional Psychiatric Centre, a federal prison, on January 23, 2013.The official cause of death was determined to be cardiac arrest from hyperglycemia caused by "poorly managed diabetes".Her death initially attracted attention in 2013 when her mother approached the media pronouncing her suspicion of the circumstances surrounding her daughter's death, which at the time, was said to be an apparent heart attack.Three years later, the Correctional Service of Canada's Board of Investigation report was made public.According to this report, staff had not managed James' physical health concerns appropriately and, upon finding James non-responsive on the night of her death, the nurse had taken too long to call a Code Blue indicating a medical emergency.A Coroner's Inquiry, originally scheduled for 2016, took place in April and May 2017.Following several days of testimony from various staff members, the jury concluded that Kinew James died of natural causes.However, they issued a number of recommendations including: recruiting more Indigenous staff members, adopting Indigenous restorative justice principles, training staff in "aboriginal social history" as well as several recommendations pertaining to the technical systems of the centre.Matthew Hines was a 33-year-old man from Cape Breton who died while incarcerated at Dorchester Penitentiary, a federal prison, on May 27, 2015.While the coroner's report has not yet been released, a pathologist determined that the cause of death appeared to be acute asphyxia due to extensive pulmonary edema following administration of pepper spray.In other words, Matthew Hines likely died from lack of oxygen caused by being pepper sprayed numerous times.Immediately following Hines' death, the Correctional Service of Canada published a news release stating that Hines had been found in need of medical attention and staff had performed

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