Two guards charged in 2015 death of N.B. inmate

Three years after a troubled Cape Breton man died after being hit repeatedly with pepper spray in prison, two correctional officers have been charged with manslaughter.

RCMP had originally said foul play was not suspected in Matthew Hines’s death, but the charges come after Canada’s correctional investigator found prison staff used unnecessary force.

Hines, who was serving a five-year sentence for crimes including robbery, died on May 26, 2015, at Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick.

The family was originally told the 33-year-old died of a seizure, and said in a statement Wednesday it is relieved his death has been thoroughly investigated.

“Our parents waited far too long to be told the truth of how Matthew died, and now we feel it is fundamentally important to all Canadians that justice be done, and be seen to be done,” they wrote.

“We trust that all who saw Matthew before and during his death look in the mirror every day with the knowledge of what they did and did not do.”

On Wednesday, two men, 48-year-old Alvida Ross and 31-year-old Mathieu Bourgoin, both of Dieppe, N.B., were charged with one count each of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death.

Ivan Zinger, Canada’s correctional investigator, said in a report that the repeated use of pepper spray at very close range appears to have contributed to Hines’ rapid onset of medical complications.