The person who represents the inmate who died at HMP, and the union that represents correctional officers who may have had some involvement in the death, are at odds over where there should be in inquiry.
Five people have died at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary and the Clarenville Correction Institute for Women in the past two years, but Jonathan Henoche this week appears to be the first not to have died by his own hand.
NAPE President Jerry Earle told VOCM News that preliminary information indicates that there may have been an interaction with the deceased and correctional officers.
Lawyer Bob Buckingham, who represents Henoche, wants an inquiry to begin immediately. Earle says it’s best to wait until the police investigation concludes before thinking of an inquiry.
Buckingham is not impressed. Buckingham says he knows more than what he is able to say. He calls the leak that came out of the penitentiary about the death “obscene.”
Earle says it is time for everyone to slow down and allow due process. The union leader says it’s important to wait until the facts are revealed. He added that there are some out there—including some in the legal community—who had no idea what happened.
Here’s a portion of what Earle had to say @590VOCM #nlpoli pic.twitter.com/d7w7j3IAQk
— Gerri Lynn Mackey (@GerriLynnMackey) November 8, 2019