A key ruling this morning on evidence in the case against nine Corrections Officers at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary could determine whether some or any of them stand trial.

The ruling itself and the reasons for it cannot be reported due to a publication ban on evidence presented during the ongoing preliminary inquiry.

But it is known that it involved the admissibility of potentially crucial medical evidence.

33-year-old Jonathan Henoche died in November of 2019 following an altercation with guards at HMP, while awaiting his own trial for first-degree murder.

Following her ruling this morning, Provincial Court Chief Judge Pamela Goulding set the matter over until November 9th to give the Crown and half dozen defence counsel time to decide how they want to proceed in light of her decision.

The Crown declined to comment on the plan going forward, but outside the court, more than one defence lawyer suggested “good news” might be coming for their clients.

Since 2003, eighteen people have died while in the custody of corrections in the province — with 13 of them at HMP or the city lockup.