The Correctional Service of Canada has reached an undisclosed settlement with the family of a teenage inmate who died in an Ontario prison more than three years ago.
A lawyer representing the family of Ashley Smith revealed this week that the lawsuit, which was filed in 2009 and sought $11-million in damages from various prison staff and Correctional Service of Canada officials, has been settled.
The website for lawyer Julian Falconer states that "the matter has been settled to the satisfaction of all parties, the terms of settlement reached last month are confidential."
A long-awaited inquest into Smith's death is set to begin later this month.
Smith died in Ontario's Grand Valley Institution for Women in the fall of 2007, after strangling herself to death in her cell while prison staff looked on.
The New Brunswick-born inmate was only 19 years old when she died.
Smith's death put the prison system under immense scrutiny, and the Correctional Investigator of Canada later concluded her death was "preventable."
She had originally been jailed at the age of 15 for throwing crab apples at a postal worker. But her troublesome behaviour while in custody led to continuous institutional charges that kept her behind bars until her death.
With files from The Canadian Press
