‘I’m not fit,’ accused tells St. John’s judge
Justin Jordan wants to take back his guilty plea to stabbing of Trent Butt, other charges
He was more reserved Tuesday than at his last court appearance — during which he gave the judge the middle finger and demanded that she not tell him what to do — but Justin Jordan once again wanted to bypass his lawyer and speak to the judge directly.
“I’ve been down (at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary) locked in a f---ing cell for a year. Excuse my language, but how about you do a year in a cell. You’re not concerned about that?” Jordan asked provincial court Judge David Orr.
“No,” Orr responded. “It looks like there are things that we need to deal with first.”
Jordan, 25, is charged with stabbing fellow inmate Trent Butt in jail last year, and also faces charges of assault with a weapon, assault, assaulting a correctional officer, false alarm of fire and multiple court order breaches.
In January, while representing himself, he told the court he wanted to plead guilty to everything, insisting, “I’m not a criminal, but I’m not taking this to trial, it’s a waste of time. I’m pleading guilty because I want to get out of this province.”
His new lawyer, Jennifer Curran, told the court last month Jordan now wants to change his pleas to not guilty.
Orr was set Tuesday to hear arguments on that from Curran and prosecutor Jason House, but when proceedings began, Curran expressed concerns with Jordan’s mental health and asked for a psychiatric assessment.
Orr declined, saying Jordan had been assessed twice and deemed fit for trial, most recently after a month-long evaluation in the Waterford Hospital in February.
“But I’m not fit, that’s the thing,” Jordan interjected. “I’ve been taken off my medication at HMP. You call that fit? Taken off my medication, but I guess it’s your decision.
“Can I put in a plea of not guilty today and go to Supreme Court? That’s my belief.”
Jordan, who also uses the surname Hussey, said he didn’t understand his charges, given they had been laid under the name Hussey, and Jordan is the name on his birth certificate.
Curran asked for time to try to obtain better instructions from her client before proceeding with the hearing. The case will be called again April 25.
“So what’s that for?” Jordan asked the judge. “Are we going to set this over for trial, or are we prolonging it again?”
Jordan has caused concern with his behaviour at his last few court appearances, with repeated outbursts. In March, he appeared via video-link from HMP before Judge Jackie Brazil, and at one point stood up in front of the camera so his face wasn’t visible. When Brazil asked him to sit down, Jordan told her, “Don’t tell me to sit down! You sit down!” Brazil pointed out she was already sitting, and Jordan replied, “Well stand up!” He later gave the judge the middle finger, laughing. Brazil ordered him removed from the video appearance room by correctional officers.
Jordan allegedly stabbed Butt, who has been charged with murdering his five-yearold daughter, Quinn, during recreation period at HMP on June 8, 2017. Butt was not seriously injured.
“Put your hands in the air for Baby Quinn,” Jordan told reporters as he was being escorted into the courtroom at this first appearance on that matter.