If you're held "on remand" it means you haven't been convicted of a crime yet, but also that you can't secure bail or a judge's release. Practically, it means you go to jail, and stay there while your case crawls through the courts.

In some provinces there are thousands more people on remand in jail than there are convicted criminals serving jail time. It leads to crowding, illness and sometimes death. Should a person who hasn't been convicted ever die in jail? How is this system supposed to work, and what's led to its current state?

GUEST: Geena Mortfield, court and crime reporter for the Brandon Sun; writing in The Walus

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca 

Or by calling 416-935-5935 and leaving us a voicemail

Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter