What is the difference between a mandatory inquest for mentally ill inmates and inmates?

The fact that a mandatory inquest is provided for inmates reflects both their more dangerous circumstances and the lesser public scrutiny of correctional institutions. The distinction drawn by the legislation reasonably corresponds to the different needs and circumstances of the two groups and does not show a lack of respect for or loss of dignity to the mentally ill. As this court said in Stanford v. Harris, [1989] O.J. No. 1068, 33 O.A.C. 241 (Div. Ct.), at para. 19: One of the functions of an inquest into a death in prison or other institution not ordinarily open to public view is to provide the degree of public scrutiny necessary to ensure that it cannot be said, once the inquest is over, that there has been a whitewash or a coverup. There is no better antidote to ill-founded or mischievous allegations and suspicions than full and open scrutiny.