'He wasn’t a bad guy': Social worker tells inquest how prison staff tried to help inmate prior to his death

The inquest into the death of 27-year-old Curtis McKenzie continued on Wednesday at the Coronet Hotel with testimony from a therapist and social worker. 

McKenzie was found unresponsive in his cell after he hung himself on February 26, 2020. He was taken to Victoria Hospital where he was pronounced dead nearly two weeks later.

Occupational therapist, Ashley Kuzma, was one of the witnesses called to the stand. She worked at the mental health unit where McKenzie resided.

Kuzma led several group activities in the institution, like cooking. She said McKenzie was always participating and he looked like he was enjoying it.

She also described him as someone who loved to draw and paint.

When McKenzie harmed himself on February 5, 2020, the same day his prescription of an anti-depressant, Wellbutrin, was discontinued, he was put on increased watch. This means the mental health staff would follow up with him more often.

To help him cope during times when he would think of self-harm, Kuzma provided a pocket radio to Curtis because he liked to listen to music.

Kuzma said every time McKenzie was asked how he was doing, he would say he was okay.

Another witness who testified was Corie Sander, a clinical social worker in the mental health unit at the penitentiary. She is the primary clinician of McKenzie who met with him on multiple occasions.

She described McKenzie as a “very phenomenal artist” who felt better when he was drawing or painting.

Sander agreed McKenzie had “serious mental health problems” but he wasn’t consenting to services. Because of this, the mental health unit had to find a different solution to help him. They gave him a “made-up” job so he would have a reason to interact.

Sander also signed off approximately six mental health monitoring forms for McKenzie in February 2020. The form is a way of communicating with the rest of the staff about his condition. She also described it as “basically a treatment plan for people struggling with mental health.”

When asked what recommendation she can think of to prevent similar deaths in the future, she said more time with patients. She added, “the amount of policies and documentation is what takes away from the client” saying it takes her all morning from talking to an inmate to documenting the session.

Sander ended her testimony by saying that she has “worked with a lot of bad people and Curtis wasn’t one of them…ever.” She repeated, “He wasn’t a bad guy.”