‘Torturing us as payback’: How Ontario jail guards exacted a violent, hours-long revenge against inmates

Guest: Brendan Kennedy, investigative reporter at The Star

On Dec. 20, 2023 a guard was assaulted by an inmate at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton, Ontario. The inmate was then immediately removed from the facility. Two days later, jail guards in full riot gear carried out a violent, mass strip search of 192 inmates – none of whom were involved in the initial incident -- in a coordinated, collective punishment that spanned 48 hours. 

A judge has called it a gross display of power, something that should never happen in this country. However, the Ministry of the Solicitor General, who oversees jails across the province, has remained relatively silent on the matter. 

The incident has gone on to impact dozens of criminal cases across the province, as inmates seek to have their charges stayed or sentences reduced – and in some cases have received just that, as a recourse for having their Charter Rights violated.

Brendan Kennedy, investigative reporter with The Star, originally broke this story last year and has been doggedly trying to obtain security footage of exactly what went down at Maplehurst over the course of those 48 hours and what that tell us about the state of our jails.

PLUS: Hear from Rene Pearle, a former Maplehurst inmate who was there on that fateful day

This episode was produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Sean Pattendon and Paulo Marques.