For centuries, pregnant women were incarcerated, and their babies were forcibly removed for adoption—while few questioned it. This Article uses systems theory to outline the problem of automatic rights denial of children born to incarcerated persons. 👇 journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/cj...

Sixty years ago today, on July 4, 1966, Toronto reached approximately 36.1°C (97°F). Imagine being locked in a tiny cell in that heat. Mercer experienced many riots over the years, and extreme conditions like this could only have added to the strain and tension endured by those confined there.

1/6🧵 Ontario decided it needed a separate prison for women. The result was the Andrew Mercer Ontario Reformatory for Females, which opened on August 28, 1880. During the next 89 years, more than 20,000 women and girls would pass through its gates.

We worked hard to break down this barrier. Three years. Multiple IPC orders. Dismissed reconsideration requests. The YCJA does not retroactively restrict access to records solely because an individual was under 18 while incarcerated at Mercer. PO-4827-R canlii.ca/t/kl2n3

Yr ending Mar 1964: 559 females imprisoned at Mercer—293 single, 266 married. Though framed as addressing a “child in need of protection,” the Ontario Child Welfare Act disproportionately impacted single mothers, effectively treating sole caregiving as grounds for child removal.

Eugenic ideology shaped laws, abusive institutions, and forced sterilization. Today, federal and provincial disclosure laws still hide the experiences of women and girls in Canada labeled “incorrigible,” blocking access to records. The U. S. #Incorrigibles Ry Marcattilio-McCracken 👇

🧵Canada Must Confront the Legacy of Forced Adoptions of Babies Born to Unmarried Mothers in Maternity Homes 1/4 🥚

🧵Torture at the Ontario Training School for Girls: a 12-year-old brutally abused for 92 days—then incarcerated in the Mercer Reformatory. Two snippets from the Toronto Star. 👇1/2

B.C. school for girls known as 'house of horror' subject of class-action lawsuit Lawsuit seeking damages for sexual, physical, mental abuse against girls, many Indigenous, jailed between 1914 and 1973, can proceed vancouversun.com/news/bc-girl...

Queen’s Law Professor Lisa Kelly presented a talk, "The Unfinished Revolution in Youth Justice," examining the history of youth laws in Canada, recent reforms, and what the youth experience can teach us about creating a more humane legal system. Watch: bit.ly/4u71avK

🧵One story—and face—of 20,000+ “criminals” at Mercer: records show 8 incarcerations and a brutal attempted murder—left in a field to die. She survived 5 skull fractures, a lost finger, a broken arm—and was still sent back to Mercer.

What is true today was true decades ago. For adoptees seeking records, provincial & federal disclosure laws still hide whether their “juvenile delinquent” mothers were jailed at Mercer, Training Schools, or maternity homes—and even who their fathers were. www.justiceforgirls.org/issues/crimi...

Women with intellectual & developmental disabilities were criminalized & jailed at Mercer or asylums (1880–1969), often repeatedly. Today, this persists in new forms, causing trauma & loss of safety, security & dignity. More here: www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/poli...

Criminalized as a “juvenile delinquent,” a girl could be returned to court under the JDA until age 21—many while pregnant, subsequently incarcerated in maternity homes, asylums, & Mercer. For adoptees of all races, these carceral birth origins remain hidden behind the YCJA & CYFSA.👇

Once committed to a training school, a girl remained a ward until age 21—later reduced to 18. Under constant scrutiny and control, many who became pregnant were later incarcerated in maternity homes or at Mercer. For adoptees, their mothers’ histories remain hidden behind the CYFSA and the YCJA.

These girls were erased and hidden from society—and still are, their records locked behind youth disclosure laws. The true story of maternity homes remains untold.

Thread 🧵 Although Velma Demerson eventually received compensation, her case stands as an exception rather than evidence of systemic accountability. 1/6 www.ola.org/en/legislati...

Female Refuges Act? Learn more in this podcast, created by Queen’s University undergraduate student Annie Dowd, about the history of the Female Refuges Act here: www.queensu.ca/history/site...

In Ont., Mercer Reformatory records were denied under the YCJA—but teens 16–17 weren’t considered “youth offenders” then. We appealed—and won. Orders PO-4749, PO-4750 & PO-4751 force a new access decision. 1/2 #FOI #SecretCanada #HiddenHistory

In 1905 in Ontario, a little girl was placed out for the first time. J.J. Kelso’s vision was to rescue children from unworthy families and give them “safe homes.” But that vision fell short — she was shuffled through home after home, only breaking free by marrying.

🧵The Andrew Mercer Reformatory was one of many carceral institutions in Ontario that imprisoned over 20,000 women and girls. To read the text beneath the photos on the heritage plaque, please visit: andrewmercerreformatory.org/heritage-pla... 1/2

1/3 We’ve seen Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and Mercer records of a mom jailed in 1911 with five kids—all “placed out.” One son, indentured, was denied his earnings by Fort William CAS when he turned 18 in 1922. He hired a lawyer. How much did CAS steal from those who had no power?

2/3 This is an extremely tragic story that begins in the 1930s. It’s unbelievable what happened to this family — the children, the foster care system, the adoptions that followed and Ontario Training School. Make maters worse, discovering your grandmother was at Mercer there during the 1948 riot.

🧵1/3 A Mercer descendant exploring femininity, class, morality, and resistance. This fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there. 🎥 Watch the reel:

Thank you for letting me know! It’s likely set to private then for only FB friends. Sorry about that. It was a video of an array of fabric plus newspapers images of the riot.

Mercer descendant, playing with ideas of femininity, class, morality, and resistance States: this fabric will be joined with printed newspaper clippings from the June 1948 Mercer prison riot — the second month my 17-year-old grandma arrived there 🎥 Watch the reel: www.facebook.com/reel/1428738...

Monica's Story: The Hidden Lives of Kids with Imprisoned Moms and Dads www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7N_...

1/4: Obscured behind adoptees’ records and adoption stats are likely many girls labeled as "delinquents" or wards of the CAS — committed to Ontario Training Schools (OTS) or placed on probation until age 21 (later reduced to 18). The image below shows the scale of girls under OTS wardship only.

Wards of the CAS were almost never named in the press — but 13-year-old Lillie was. Little is known about her, but we do know she arrived at the Industrial Refuge in the west wing of the Mercer Reformatory. Her charge? “Immoral conduct.” Like so many others, Lillie’s voice was lost in the records.

According to Ont Agricultural College, in 1934 L. Payne, a grad, published a book: Bread and Water Diets of Prisoners Found Inadequate. In 1947, K. Sandford documented punishment in the dungeon and the bread-and-water diet at Mercer. This raises the question: when was this punitive practice ended?