A rally is planned outside Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s this afternoon, calling for changes to a system that it says “perpetuates cycles of harm and despair” instead of focusing on recovery and rehabilitation.
Guardians of Recovery, a group formed by Tina Oliviero after she lost her son Ben to addiction, says HMP is a “broken system” that fails to address addiction, mental illness and the basic needs of those incarcerated there.
The group is advocating for Mitchell Murphy, a man they say has been in psychosis at HMP since September, and those like him.
Today’s rally is set for 12:30 outside the penitentiary.
VOCM News will be there.