Lawyer wants Cree identity considered in sentence for N.S. prison hostage-taking

CITYnews halifax / By The Canadian Press

A Nova Scotia judge is scheduled to sentence a woman today who has been in prison since she was 15 and has pleaded guilty to unlawful confinement.

Her lawyer is seeking a discharge in the matter on the basis that Serena Tobaccojuice’s history and Cree identity have never before been considered by the court system.

Jeremiah Raining Bird says Tobaccojuice was seeking medical help from staff at the Nova Institution for Women in 2022 when she bent a pair of tweezers into a point and used them to prevent two guards from leaving the unit.

He says she then turned the weapon on herself before guards pepper-sprayed her and handcuffed her less than 20 minutes later.

Tobaccojuice is serving a life sentence at the Truro, N.S., prison for a murder in Saskatchewan in 1997, when she was 15.

Raining Bird says she has been convicted multiple times for hostage-taking inside the prison.

The lawyer says Tobaccojuice falsely confessed to crimes in her youth in order to be incarcerated and avoid going to a residential school.

He says she was placed in foster care early in her youth and has suffered “terrible” prison conditions that include long periods in solitary confinement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2025.