Official Kyle Young Inquiry Commences: Important Questions Probably Not To Be Asked

'A kind of a melee'
TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU

A teen who died in a fall down a prisoner elevator shaft at the Edmonton courthouse was handcuffed and shackled at the time, after assaulting a guard two days earlier. The attack on a female court constable was revealed publicly for the first time yesterday at a fatality inquiry being held into the Jan. 22, 2004, death of Kyle James Young, 16.

Right. We knew the boy was shackled, and now we know why. We still are a little lost on the question of why a small, shackled, 16-year-old found himself propelled through an elevator door.

Young's mother, Lorena Young, is attending the inquiry and said she is hoping to get some answers.

"I'm just glad it finally got started."

I wish Lorena Young could legitimately hope for answers, but this thing's been whitewashed from the start. There are a lot of people, including both cops and court workers, who deserve to be having a real hard time getting any sleep over this.