P.E.I. coroner's jury calls for changes in how people found not criminally responsible are treated
CBC
Warning: This story deals with suicide. If you or someone you know has been struggling with mental health, you can find resources for help at the bottom of this story.
The six jurors who heard evidence in the coroner's inquest into the death of Colton Clarkin have returned with 12 recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths.
Their advice was presented in a Charlottetown courtroom Monday after three days of testimony and several hours of deliberation.
"It's been a heavy few days, emotional, with a lot of information that's been presented, especially watching the Clarkins here attending every day," said Dr. Brandon Webber, P.E.I.'s chief coroner, who presided over the inquest.
"But I'm really happy with how we told the story of what happened to Colton over the period of his involuntary admission. And I think it really played out with the jury and they were able to make some good recommendations from that."
Clarkin, 27, had been an involuntary patient at Hillsborough Hospital in Charlottetown for 10 months by the time he died by suicide in July 2023.
He fled from the grounds while walking there with his father, and his body was found near the Confederation Trail the next day.
The recommendations include improving communication between teams when a patient changes a response on a suicide screening tool.
The jurors also recommended that patients who are considered flight risks not be allowed to leave on passes without adequate supervision.
The six jurors also advised the province to arrange deals with forensic psychiatric hospitals in other provinces to have them accept Island patients who have been found not criminally responsible for offences.
The inquest was told such a facility would have better tools for treating Clarkin than the Hillsborough Hospital had.
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