The Life and Death of Ashely Smith

Ashley Smith: A child the system let down and her adopters are profiting from her tragic life of abuse. 

My Life

My life I no longer love
I’d rather be set free above
Get it over with while the time is right
Late some rainy night
Turn black as the sky and as cold as the sea
Say goodbye to Ashley
Miss me but don’t be sad
I’m not sad I’m happy and glad
I’m free, where I want to be
No more caged up Ashley

Wishing I were free
Free like a bird.

Ashley Smith, 18 years old
October 1, 2006
New Brunswick Youth Centre

Ashley Smith was born on January 29, 1988. She was adopted when she was 5 days old. She developed normally, reaching all expected milestones. Up until the time she was in grade 5, there were no significant problems with Ashley.  In grade 5, at approximately 10 years of age, she began developing behaviour problems at school.  She was disruptive and talked excessively. 




At 13, "Ashley began exhibiting disruptive and oppositional behaviour, disrespect towards adults in general (both school personnel and visitors) as well as problematic issues in her relationship with her peers."

Her "defiant" behavior led to her being suspended from school numerous time when she was 14. the detailed report of these events indicate no effort to help this child through therapy or to deal with the root cause of her anger - perhaps feelings of abandonment common to adoptees???

"Documents on file reveal that progressively, the relationship between Ashley and her parents was becoming very strained, namely after Ashley started running high monthly long distance charges, in excess of $1,000 at times.  She would also spend a lot of time on the internet, chatting with others or accessing inappropriate and highly questionable material. "

Ashley was found dead in her prison cell at the age of 19 having died of self-strangulation after being beaten and severely abused by prison staff - having been imprisoned at just FOURTEEN YEARS OF AGE for "assault and disturbance in a public place" following an apple throwing, she was later transferred to an adult facility, despite doctors having diagnosed her as having a serious personality disorder.

Her death is classified as accidental, not suicide. She had choked herself previously and her jailers chalked it up to "attention seeking" behavior.

She had been transferred between federal institutions 17 times in her three years of incarnation. Most of her final 11 months she was kept in segregation and often on suicide watch dressed in a highly restrictive gown.

Ashley Smith:  A Report of the New Brunswick Ombudsman and Child and Youth Advocate on the services provided to a youth involved in the youth criminal justice system

Published by: Office of the Ombudsman & Child and Youth Advocate Province of New Brunswick:

The psychiatric assessment states under “diagnostic impression”, “learning disorder, ADHD, borderline personality disorder”, although depression was ruled out.  In an addendum, the assessing psychiatrist added “narcissistic personality traits”.  The recommendations from the psychological assessment were: for the parents to receive sessions on how to deal with an “oppositional defiant youth’, for all partners to work together in dealing with Ashley’s behaviour (the parents, the school, the community), for Ashley to receive individual counselling from her local mental health centre, for further monitoring and assessment “for the presence of interpersonally imbalance personality disorder or trait and a cyclic mood disorder, to ensure she’s receiving appropriate treatment”, and that she receive follow-up on the medication regime prescribed by the psychiatrist at the Pierre Caissie Centre.  

But, things got worse for Smith when she was transferred to the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon in December 2006, where she was beaten.

AND...her adoptive parents sued and were awarded $11 Million Dollars in a wrongful death lawsuit against the Correctional Service of Canada.

The particular circumstances of Ashley’s experiences within the provincial and federal
correctional systems may have easily gone unnoticed had it not been for her tragic death. 
In fact, it quickly became obvious that her personal experience in the correctional system
is like that of other young men and women involved in the youth criminal justice system,
experiencing a personal struggle with mental illness and severe behaviour disorders.

Her plight along with that of her parents in attempting to obtain the best possible services
and treatment for their daughter was unfortunately not an unfamiliar one for my Office. 
It is a circumstance shared by other parents in this province.  The unanswered question
remains for them as it does for me and many other New Brunswickers: why are youths
suffering from mental illness and severe behavioural disorders being sent to jail?  How
are their needs addressed in that setting?  What must be done to change this situation and
its tragic outcomes?  

 Ashley Smith: A child the system let down and her adopters are profiting from her tragic life of abuse.

Why should THEY profit from this? What about her natural mother???  Why was Ashely adopted to begin with?  Were her mother's right terminated voluntarily, through coercion, or was it a 'frceable" involuntarily state termination of rights? Was there just cause?

The majority of news reports on this case don't even mention that she was adopted at all. It's considered of no significance when it may in fact be THE MOST significant fact in her brief life and death,

These questions remain unanswered...never asked...as if her life began when she was adopted and her adopters are the victims here!

Rest in peace sweet angel...and thanks to Mary Ann Mullen for bringing this to my attention.