Howard Sapers says the risk of preventable deaths in prisons remains 'unacceptably high' and that offenders with mental health issues need more independant observation. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)The risk of preventable deaths in custody remains "unacceptably high," despite changes made by the Correctional Service of Canada, the federal prison ombudsman said Friday.

Howard Sapers, who heads the Office of the Correctional Investigator of Canada, said the federal corrections agency has rejected recommendations his office made following an investigation into the 2007 death of a young New Brunswick woman in an Ontario prison.

Ashley Smith of Moncton was 19 when she choked herself to death in her cell at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont., on Oct. 19.

Sapers's first report released earlier this year said guards did not respond to Smith because they previously had been disciplined for intervening too quickly in an earlier incident.

An investigation into the death of Ashley Smith in 2007 at a Kitchener, Ont., prison sparked a call for changes to how corrections officials deal with mentally ill offenders. (Family photo)

Sapers described her death as entirely preventable and said it revealed breakdowns in the correctional system and a lack of co-ordination with mental health authorities.

Correctional Service of Canada responded in August with a list of actions it had taken since Sapers's report.

However, Sapers said the CSC response didn't include the recommendation to have outside monitoring of mentally ill offenders who are segregated. The CSC also dismissed the call for an independent mental health professional to be on hand during investigations into prisoner deaths or incidents of self-harm or injury, he said.

His report also calls for more official accountability at all levels of government.