Man wanted on 12 warrants mistakenly released from Hamilton-Wentworth prison

A man facing charges in Hamilton and wanted on 12 warrants in Toronto was accidentally released from the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre last week.

Matthew Jordan O’Keefe, 35, was arrested in a car on Aug. 10. He was charged with several drug-related offences, possession of the proceeds of crime and unauthorized possession of a gun. He was held in custody until trial.

However, just days before he was set to answer to these charges, the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre let him out. He was meant to appear in court on Nov. 26 but did not appear. It turned out he’d been let go

Otherwise known as the Barton Jail, the prison is a maximum-security penitentiary owned by the province. Since it opened in 1978, it has built a reputation as one of the worst in Ontario. 

The prison has the highest rate of solitary confinement in the province, a practice the United Nations considers torture. Last year, difficulties in the pen such as a lack of razors, mail and yard time led to a mass hunger strike. Furthermore, Barton Jail is subject to a coroner’s inquest after the overdose death of six inmates.

O’Keefe isn’t the first inmate mistakenly released from Barton Jail either. In March of last year, they released Shawn Delaney, 45, before he completed his sentence. Delaney was on the loose for two days before he was eventually re-arrested.

Like in the O’Keefe case, it took Hamilton Police nearly a week after Delaney’s release to inform the public. Delaney had been convicted of choking and breaking and entering among other offenses. He still had more than a month on his sentence and was later given more time for evading police.

“If you see O’Keefe or know his whereabouts, call 911,” police advised.