Inmate held hostage at Edmonton Institution for Women files lawsuit

An inmate at the Edmonton Institution for Women who was held hostage with a sharp object held to her neck has filed a $150,000 lawsuit against the federal government.

Debbie Miller was taken hostage on Feb. 21, 2013, by fellow inmate Serena Nicotine, a woman the suit claims had an extensive history of violence and presented a danger to other inmates.

On the day in question, Nicotine sneaked up on Miller from behind and held a sharp object against her neck, according to the statement of claim.

"You need to do as I tell you to do, or I'll cut open your jugular," Nicotine said.

Miller was held hostage for 15 minutes, according to the claim, before prison staff noticed anything was wrong. When they did finally notice, they made the situation worse, the claim alleges.

“Staff members … engaged in conduct which they knew or ought to have known was likely to provoke Nicotine,” according to the statement of claim. “As a result, Nicotine’s level of frustration and agitation increase … and she held the sharp object event closer to the plaintiff’s throat.”

The claim alleges that Nicotine then shouted, “I will slice open her throat. If I don’t get what I want, I’ll slit her throat and you’ll have that memory forever. I’ll turn my back and plug my ears and not have to hear her screams.”

Miller was held hostage for three-and-a-half hours, and was only released when Nicotine was finally too tired to hold her any longer.

The statement of claim alleges that Miller suffered “serious mental distress” and other physical injuries and now suffers from “post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, night terrors, anxiety and insomnia.”

The lawsuit names Nicotine, the Attorney General of Canada and two employees at the Edmonton Institution for Women and Nicotine.

None of the allegations in the claim have been proven in court.

Nicotine has spent much of her life in jail.

She was 15 when she killed the female operator of a group home in North Battleford. She hit the woman over the head with a frying pan then stabbed her repeatedly.

Nicotine was tried and sentenced as an adult for that crime, and given a life sentence.

Since then, she has been involved in several violent attacks and hostage incidents. She once held a psychiatric nurse hostage at knifepoint and burned the face and hair of a prison guard who was blindfolded.

While in custody at the Edmonton courthouse in 2013,  Nicotine allegedly used the lens of her eyeglasses to take another female prisoner hostage in a holding cell. She was charged with unlawful confinement and possession of a weapon.