Charges have been sworn against ten correctional officers in the death of an inmate at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary.
33-year-old Jonathan Henoche died following an altercation at the prison in November of 2019.
Three of the officers charged—Jeff Thistle, Jason Anthony, and David Jordan Constantine—are accused of manslaughter. Thistle is facing an additional charge of failure to provide the necessities of life.
Seven others are charged with criminal negligence causing death.
All ten are scheduled to appear in provincial court February 11.
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The PC MHA for Torngat Mountains is calling on the Justice Minister to release more information on the case involving the death of Jonathan Henoche while in custody at HMP.
Charges have been sworn in court against ten correctional officers in connection with Henoche’s death in November of 2019. They are scheduled to appear in court on February 11.
Lela Evans is raising questions about what she calls the “secrecy” surrounding the matter. She says government’s muted response is doing a “disservice” to public confidence in the justice system.
According to Evans, when people don’t know why things are being done, they start to fill in the gaps themselves—which erodes public confidence. She’s calling on the Justice Minister to “step up” and explain the situation to restore confidence in the system.
Evans also points to how the situation is affecting those in the corrections field. She says corrections officers have been vilified on social media, and she believes that is a direct result of government not providing an explanation or clarity on the situation.
In a statement, Justice Minister Steve Crocker emphasizes the importance of public faith in the justice system. He says that as a minister he is not involved in criminal investigative processes.
Crocker says he appreciates the public concern and interest in the case, but “cannot and will not discuss the details of what happened” as the matter will be prosecuted. He notes that government takes the care of inmates very seriously and they hope to never find themselves in that situation again.
