For Lisa Piercey everything right now is one big why as she struggles to come to grips with the death of her daughter, Samantha.
Samantha Piercey, 28, died Saturday night while in custody at the Women’s Correctional Centre in Clarenville. The Corner Brook woman had been incarcerated there while she awaited trial on a number of charges, including assaulting a man.
Piercey is the third person to have died while in custody in this province within the past year.
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Another of those deaths occurred at the Clarenville centre five weeks ago.
Lisa said that when that happened her biggest fear was that the same thing would happen to her daughter.
That fear came true at midnight on Saturday when officers with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary showed up at her home in the city to tell her Samantha was dead.
But they had little other information for her and Lisa was left to wait.
Hours went by and she didn’t hear from the centre, so she called the facility.
She asked why they hadn’t contacted her and says she was told it was because they had to deal with the inmates who were upset, and they could not answer questions because they had to complete their investigation.
Lisa says she knew Samantha had a conflict with another inmate and was ready to make the drive to Clarenville to be able to see her daughter, but says she was told by the hospital in these types of situations it would not be allowed.
On Monday afternoon, she was still without any answers about what exactly happened to her daughter or when she would see her.
“It’s very difficult," she said. "It’s the not knowing that’s the hardest part.
“I’m lost. I need to know why. As a family, we need to know why.”
The young mother of two had been at the centre since April and was getting ready to return to Corner Brook for her trial, which had been set for June 4-6.
Lisa said Samantha was looking forward to coming back and dealing with her matters and that her daughter sounded upbeat during their last conversation Friday.
While there has been no indication from prison authorities about how Samantha died, her mother is convinced it wasn’t by suicide.
“There’s no way anybody can tell me she committed suicide because I know the difference of that. She wouldn’t do that.”
She had issues with mental health, but they involved personality and anger issues.
“I know that somebody else was talking to her 7 o’clock Saturday evening and she was fine. So, what happened between seven and midnight?
“Why didn’t I get a call when she was being transported to the hospital?
“Something happened for them to know she needed medical treatment and they can’t even tell me that much,” she said, through a mixture of anger and grief.
Lisa questions whether the family would receive the same treatment if Samantha wasn't an inmate.
“Samantha had a lot of issues, but she did not deserve this.”
She said her daughter’s death is senseless and she was prompted to speak out after hearing Justice Minister Andrew Parsons talk of visiting the prison to console the inmates and set up counselling for them.
“What about us, her family,” she said, taking a deep breath.
Parsons said Monday an independent investigation into Samantha’s death and those of the two other inmates will begin immediately. But that’s no comfort to Lisa.
“It’s a senseless death ... No matter what the outcome is, they are responsible as well. They were supposed to keep her safe and they failed to keep her safe.”
*** Edited for style and clarity May 29 ***
*** Edited to correct misinformation May 30 ***
