Her Majesty’s Penitentiary was built in the 1850s and is known for its dilapidated infrastructure and the persistent problems of rodents. These issues lead the courts to grant time credits to some inmates. (Paul Daly / The Canadian Press)
A Supreme Court judge destroyed the state’s largest prison in Newfoundland and Labrador in a ruling released Wednesday, granting an offender additional time in his sentence to live in “harsh conditions” and pointing out several other cases in which the prisoners had been given credit because of the building’s structure. deficiencies.
Johnathan Slade pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and three counts of non-compliance with parole and release order.
He has already served 467 days in pretrial detention, much of His Majesty’s Penitentiary (HMP), the Victorian-era institution in St. Louis. John’s.
The installation has long been riddled with criticism. It was the subject of two government reports investigating prison conditions and several suicide deaths that took place within its walls.
During COVID-19, according to the testimony included in the Supreme Court decision, the environment only got worse.
Judge Glen Noel noted that Slade, 27, has several mental health diagnoses, including ADHD, PTSD and bipolar disorder, as well as permanent physical disabilities from car accidents.
Those injuries, Noel wrote, left Slade incontinent and in pain.
Slade argued that he had been confined for several periods without leisure time, forced to use the bathroom in cells without doors, and that he could not attend programming or see a psychologist regularly.
He also contracted COVID-19 in prison in March.
One of the cells of Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s, which does not allow privacy when inmates use the toilet. (CBC)
“Mr. Slade’s mental and physical illness predisposed him to suffer adverse effects compared to an individual without his disabilities,” Noel wrote, noting that Slade also experienced suicidal ideation.
Slade saw a psychologist five times in a 20-month period and was unable to access any rehabilitation program, such as addiction therapy.
He was often confined to his wing with no access to open areas.
“There are no common or recreational areas, which means you have to walk back and forth down the narrow corridor of the cells, often obstructed by the open doors of the cells of the prisoners protruding into the corridor,” he said. write Noel. “I think these restrictions would have caused Mr Slade reduced mobility and increased pain.”
Because of his injuries, Slade also wore protective underwear, making him an easy brand of abuse.
“He experienced great embarrassment at the lack of privacy and his inability to use these hygiene products. [discreetly]said justice.
“It became the target of ridicule from other prisoners, and sometimes even from the guards. I find that this would have had a particularly profound effect on Mr. Slade’s mental health struggles.”
Slade also pointed to hygiene problems inside the prison, describing the toilets not being washed, mold on the walls, and rat infestations so severe that rodents often crept into inmates ’beds at night.
“It seems intolerable and unacceptable to me that Mr Slade has had to endure certain aspects of the conditions he describes in HMP,” Noel wrote.
Slade received 180 days of credit, reducing his sentence to four years.
Other judges have also applied the rule.
In one case, an inmate was detained in a temporary unit for 60 days during a confinement by COVID-19. This inmate was granted an additional 60 days of service.
Another offender, earlier this year, was offered 45 days of credit, called “Duncan” credit, which can be applied when offenders suffer undue harm while in pretrial detention due to contracting COVID-19 while they are in pretrial detention.
The defense attorney listed several other recent credit applications in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Justice Department announced in 2019 that it would build a new prison to replace the 150-year-old facility. It is expected to be built in the next three years.
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