Correctional officers choose trial by jury
Ten HMP guards did not appear in court personally when their matter was called by a judge Friday
The 10 correctional officers charged with the death of inmate Jonathan Henoche at Her Majesty's Penitentiary have elected a trial by judge and jury.
David Jordan Constantine, Jason Anthony, Jeff Thistle, Daniel Dalton, Riley Ricks, Stefan Cumby, Scott Dwyer, Lori Williams, Chris Coady and Jenine Rickert did not appear personally when Chief Judge Pamela Goulding called their matter in provincial court in St. John's Friday morning, having signed documents designating their lawyers to appear on their behalf instead. Half of the lawyers appeared in person, while the rest attended court by phone. Defence lawyer Jerome Kennedy, representing Thistle, made the election for a jury trial and the others followed suit.
Prosecutor Sheldon Steeves told the judge the provision of disclosure in the case — which he previously said includes more than 7,000 pages of documents and multiple videos — has almost been completed.
Two weeks have been set for a preliminary inquiry in the case, beginning Aug. 16.
Three of the officers — Constantine, Anthony and Thistle — have been charged with manslaughter, and Thistle is also facing a charge of failing to provide the necessities of life. Dalton, Ricks, Cumby, Dwyer, Williams, Coady and Rickert are charged with criminal negligence causing death. None of the accused are in custody, having been released on conditions, including that they have no contact with each other, with the exception of Coady and Rickert, who live at the same address, according to court documents.
Henoche, 33, died at Her Majesty's Penitentiary on Nov. 6, 2019, following an incident in the protective custody unit, sources say. It allegedly started when he made physical contact with a female correctional officer's arm, leading to a physical altercation between him and other officers. Two prison staff members were sent to the medical unit, sources say, while Henoche was restrained and taken to segregation. He was reportedly combative and officers put leg restraints on him to stop him from kicking.
At some point, Henoche stopped breathing and couldn't be revived by medical staff in the jail.
Henoche was in prison awaiting trial for murder in the death of 88-year-old Regula Schule of Happy Valleygoose Bay.
St. John's lawyer Bob Buckingham, who was Henoche's lawyer and currently represents his family, has called for the province to conduct an inquiry into Henoche's death and what he says is the institutional failure that led to it.