MONTREAL -- A Quebec man who has been held in a Florida state prison for over a decade has died after falling into a coma.

The family of 36-year-old Sacha Bond said he was sent to solitary confinement four months ago as a precautionary measure as COVID-19 spread around the prison. The family said they don't know what happened to him in solitary but that when he exited he was severely ill, fell into a coma and never woke up.

The family said Bond was chained to his bed in hospital, despite his condition.

Bond's family spoke to CTV News on Sunday, before his death.

“This didn't need to happen,” said Bond's mother, Diane Levesque. “If he would have been transferred back to Canada from the get-go, he would have been out. He would have had a life. Now, he was condemned to 20 years of hell and he paid with his life.”

Bond was 19-years-old when he got into a bar fight and threatened staff with a gun. Though nobody was injured, he was sentenced to serve a lengthy prison sentence. The family said Bond suffered from bi-polar disorder and had fought to have him transferred to Canada to carry out his sentence.

“We've never excused the intensity of the crime,” said his brother, Eric Bond. “We just wanted him to be with us.”

Bond was twice approved to return to Canada by federal officials but his extradition was blocked by the State of Florida.

“There's a lot of Canadians that are stuck and have been told the same thing, 'Apply for your transfer, you'll get transferred back,'” said Levesque. “They get denied, or they get approved and the states won't transfer them and it's like 'Okay, case closed.'”

In a statement, Global Affairs Canada told CTV News it was aware that “a Canadian citizen is being detained in Florida and we continue to provide consular services to the individual and their family. We are closely monitoring the situation and consular officials are in regular contact with local authorities to ensure he is provided the necessary medical care.”

Bond's brother said he wasn't satisfied with how the Canadian government handled the case.

“I don't know if we're a limp country and we like to bow down to the States because God knows why, but that's what happened,” he said.