Article content

An inmate with mental illness who attempted suicide by hanging himself in his segregation cell in the health care unit of the Ottawa jail has been removed from life support.

The family of Justin St-Amour made the decision to remove the 32-year-old from his ventilator and feeding tube on Wednesday, a week after he attempted suicide at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. He’s not expected to survive for much longer, his mother said.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Inmate who attempted suicide at Ottawa jail removed from life support Back to video

“It could be a few hours, it could be a few days, it could be a week,” said Laureen St-Amour.

Even if St-Amour lived, he would never be the same, his mother said.

“The brain is too damaged,” she said. “He’ll be in a vegetative state.”

St-Amour was in the jail after he was arrested on Nov. 22 for allegedly uttering a threat and breaching his probation. His mother said St-Amour was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 15- or 16-years old and had struggled with mental illness, drug addiction and homelessness for much of his adult life.

Correctional officers said he was a troubled inmate who was frequently put on suicide watch. Occassionally he was put on what is known as “constant watch,” where a correctional officer guarded his cell 24 hours a day. He wasn’t on suicide or constant watch at the time of the suicide attempt.

In the days leading up to his suicide attempt, the Canadian Mental Health Association had been trying to find housing for St-Amour, according to his lawyer, Karin Stein.

aseymour@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/andrew_seymour