Latest news with #prisonassault
CBC
3 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Still no charges in Robert Pickton prison death a year after fatal assault
New B.C. serial killer died after an attack by another inmate in the Port-Cartier maximum security prison Image | Caption: Police found the remains or DNA of 33 women on Robert Pickton's Port Coquitlam, B.C., farm. A year after his death following a prison assault, prison justice advocates are asking for an inquiry into his death. (CBC) A year to the day after serial killer Robert Pickton died following an assault by another inmate in a Quebec prison, there have been no charges against the alleged assailant and few answers about what happened. Pickton died in hospital on May 31, 2024, after being assaulted at the Port-Cartier maximum security prison 12 days prior. The 74-year-old was convicted in 2007 of six counts of second-degree murder but was suspected of killing dozens more women at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C. The Correctional Service of Canada first issued a release on May 20 last year about a "major assault" on an inmate, adding "the assailant has been identified and the appropriate actions have been taken." The agency later confirmed the injured inmate was Pickton, and that he had died. Quebec provincial police identified the suspect as a 51-year-old inmate, but did not release a name. WATCH | Pickton dies after fatal prison assault: Media | Serial killer Robert Pickton is dead Caption: Robert Pickton had been in hospital since May 19 after being the target of what Correctional Service Canada called a "major assault" at the maximum-security Port-Cartier Institution in Quebec. The 74-year-old B.C. man had been found guilty of murdering six women in the Vancouver area, but had bragged about killing 49. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Earlier this week, the force said its investigation remained open. "Some expert reports are still ongoing. As this is an active file, we will not comment further," the Sûreté du Québec wrote in an email. By phone, a spokesperson said the police file had not yet been handed over to the Quebec Crown prosecutor's office, who will decide whether charges will be laid. Image | Robert Pickton court sketch Caption: This is a artist's drawing of Robert Pickton appearing on a video link to B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on May 25, 2005. Pickton was suspected of killing dozens of Indigenous women at his pig farm. (Jane Wolsack/The Canadian Press) Open Image in New Tab Spokesperson Audrey-Anne Bilodeau added police sometimes take more time to investigate when a suspect is already behind bars because there is no risk to the public. Correctional Service Canada said it expects to publish the results of investigations into the death "in the near future," spokesperson Kevin Antonucci wrote in an email. "Time was required to ensure that they were fully translated and vetted in accordance with the Privacy Act." Calls for public inquiry Advocates for prisoners' rights expressed concern about the lack of answers about what happened and said the death raises questions about inmate security. "We're concerned about a number of deaths have occurred at the hands of other prisoners without any clear answers," Catherine Latimer of the John Howard Society said in a phone interview. Latimer cited a fatality report published earlier this year by Alberta Justice Donna Groves into the death of a 21-year-old inmate who was knifed to death inside his cell by another inmate at the Edmonton Institution in 2011. The report raised a number of questions, including why the two inmates were allowed out of their cells at the same time despite belonging to rival gangs and being under orders not to be around other inmates. Groves called for a public inquiry into the death, saying it's the only way to get to the bottom of three guards' actions that day, including concerns they were running a prison "fight club." Latimer said the report shows there is a serious problem with "incompatible or vulnerable prisoners" being exposed to others who want to kill them. "Pickton really raises that," she said. Pickton, she added, would likely have been considered "vulnerable" because the nature of his offences would have made him a potential target. Prison deaths tough to investigate Howard Sapers, who spent 12 years as Correctional Investigator of Canada, said sudden prison deaths – particularly criminal ones – are often long and tough to investigate. "There are difficulties in terms of accessing crime scenes, preserving crime scenes, obtaining witness statements, so all of those things tend to frustrate investigations," he said. He added such investigations are often not a priority – at least in terms of speed – due to a lack of generalized public safety risk. He said federal investigators probing Pickton's death will be looking at whether protocol and policy was followed in areas such as contraband and weapons, underground trade in weapons and drugs, gang conflicts and known threats against an individual. Tom Engel, the former president of the Canadian Prison Law Association, agreed that Pickton's reputation would have meant he was at high risk of being assaulted by other inmates. "The question has to be asked, 'Well, how could this happen when he's at high risk?'" he said in a phone interview. LISTEN | Questions over prison safety: Media | Breakaway : Is Canada's federal prison system safe for all inmates? Caption: The assault on serial killer Robert Pickton at the Port Cartier prison is raising questions about the safety of inmates within federal prisons. Alison speaks with Senator Kim Pate, who says she is very concerned about the lack of respect for human rights towards those who are sentences in our country. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Engel said he wasn't surprised by the lack of charges so far. He said investigations can be lengthy, in part because correctional staff and inmates can be reluctant to fully co-operate with police. The announcement of Pickton's death last year was met with public expressions of satisfaction and joy rather than concern. Families of victims used words such as "healing," "overjoyed" and "justice" to describe the death of a man who preyed upon vulnerable women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, many of them Indigenous. But Engel believes the fate of prison inmates should be a concern. "Members of the public who believe in human rights, who believe in the rule of law, who believe that the Criminal Code of Canada applies to everybody should care about this, because you can't have this kind of lawlessness going on in a prison," he said. Sapers noted prisons can be dangerous for both inmates and correctional staff. And he said many of the solutions, which include more investment in staffing, training, prison infrastructure and programming to meaningfully occupy prisoners, benefit both groups. "Often people don't make the link to safe environments for people who are in custody are also safe environments for people who have to work there, and I think it's a really important point to make," he said.
CBC
6 days ago
- General
- CBC
Man who killed 3 Moncton Mounties on trial for alleged prison assault
Social Sharing A trial for an alleged prison assault began Wednesday in New Brunswick for a man who killed three Mounties in Moncton in 2014. Justin Christen Bourque, 35, is being tried in Miramichi provincial court on two charges. It's alleged he committed aggravated assault by wounding Chase Spence and had a shank, a homemade weapon, on May 3, 2022, at the Atlantic Institution. Bourque is serving life sentences at the maximum-security prison in Renous, about 30 kilometres southwest of Miramichi. Bourque is being tried alongside Christian Enang Clyke of Halifax. Correctional officers at the prison testified about seeing Bourque and Clyke appear to stab Chase near a common room around 1:30 p.m. moments after Spence was moved into the unit with them. Keitha Keating, an acting security intelligence officer who works at the prison, testified about retrieving surveillance of the alleged assault. The video shows Spence walking into a hall holding bags of his belongings followed by Bourque. Spence appears to look in several cells before walking back toward Bourque. The two appear to exchange words. The video doesn't include any audio. It then shows Spence step back and then appear to punch at Bourque's neck. Bourque pulled his hands from his pockets, with Keating testifying he appeared to be holding a shank. Spence then reaches into his waistband. Keating said it was later determined he also had a weapon. Clyke and other inmates walked into the hall as the fight continued. Spence threw a bag at Bourque and ran past the other inmates. Keating said it appeared in the video that Clyke and Bourque had weapons. Spence ran to an area closer to a control station, where a correctional officer was posted, and fell to the floor as Clyke closed in on him. Bourque followed, though what transpired is largely out of frame in the video. Shortly after, Clyke and Bourque walk away, with blood falling from Clyke's arm. Another angle showed Clyke taking off his shirt to wrap a wound. The video shown to Judge Johanne-Marguerite Landry shows Bourque go to where Keating said there's a sink in the common room, and then returning to the hallway with the cell doors, where Keating said he appears to put something under a cell door. Spence got up and walked toward a door, also leaving a trail of blood. Michael Simon, a correctional officer in the control point near where the incident happened, testified he saw both Clyke and Bourque with shanks stabbing Spence while he was on the floor. Simon testified he used pepper spray to try to halt the fight, and when they continued, he grabbed a C8 rifle. He said he ordered them to stop and the fight ended. Other officers testified about removing Spence from the unit and seeing what appeared to be stab wounds on his neck or back. He was sent to hospital for treatment and survived. Spence's hospital records were entered as an exhibit, but the details of what the records say were not mentioned in court. Spence didn't testify in the trial. RCMP Const. Charles Bougie testified that none of the three inmates provided statements to police about the events during the investigation. Keating said all three had weapons that were seized. While she brought them to court, they were not entered as exhibits for the trial. Cross-examination of witnesses by Bourque's lawyer, Simon Wood, focused on who appeared to start the fight and whether Spence was checked for weapons before being moved into the unit. Keating testified Spence appeared to start the fight, and other witnesses testified that they believed others would be responsible for searching him for weapons. Clyke, who is self-represented, asked no cross-examination questions. Trial continues Thursday Six witnesses testified Wednesday, with the Crown saying it had finished calling witnesses just before 4 p.m. Wednesday. Wood said they will take the evening to decide if Bourque will testify in his own defence Thursday when the trial resumes. While the alleged assault was in May 2022, the charges against Clyke and Bourque were only laid in November 2023.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Prison guard has 'throat slashed by inmate wielding improvised weapon' in shocking attack at high-security jail
A prison officer has had their throat slashed by an inmate using an improvised weapon in the latest sign of the deteriorating security situation in British jails. The staff member was attacked at HMP Woodhill, a high-security prison in Milton Keynes, according to the Prison Officers' Association (POA). In a separate incident at the same jail, another officer was attacked by an inmate detained under the Terrorism Act 2008, they said. The union also reported a prison officer had a TV thrown at him and a female officer sustained a broken arm after a prisoner faked an epileptic fit at Gartree Prison. The incidents follow a string of other assaults involving prisoners in recent weeks, which have included three guards being attacked with hot oil by Manchester Arena terrorist Hashem Abedi. Southport killer Axel Rudakubana ambushed the officer with hot water last Thursday, prompting him to be briefly admitted to hospital. And last month, convicted murderer John Mansfield was killed last month inside HMP Whitemoor, Cambridgeshire. POA's Geoff Willetts said today: 'I am advised that one of our members at HMP Woodhill was attacked by a prisoner who was detained under the Terrorism act of 2008. 'The Officer was assaulted and injured while carrying out his duties. 'In a separate incident at the same jail a prisoner was told to return to his cell, this resulted in a specialist officer being slashed with an improvised weapon sustaining injuries to the neck and ear. 'The Officer attended hospital attention where they required stitches and surgical glue applied to their injuries. 'Meanwhile at Gartree Prison, Market Harborough staff attended a medical emergency where a prisoner faked an epileptic fit. 'A prison officer who attended to assist was assaulted then had a TV thrown at him and a female officer sustained a broken arm.' Far-right activist Tommy Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - is currently being held at HMP Woodhill after being transferred from Belmarsh last year. Steve Gillan POA General Secretary said: 'Escalating levels of violence are out of control in the prison service in England and Wales. 'It appears that HMPPS have learned nothing. They continue to ignore the calls from our members on the front line for urgent action to protect Prison Officers from violence. 'It is clear Prison regimes must be reviewed as a matter of urgency. We need action to protect Prison Officers before there is a fatality.' 'My thoughts are with the Prison Officers who have been injured, the POA will offer them our full support.' The Prison Service is currently conducting a 'snap review' into the use of protective body armour for prison officers, while the use of tasers is being trialled in jails.
The Independent
10-05-2025
- The Independent
Southport triple killer Axel Rudakubana investigated over attack on prison officer
Axel Rudakubana, the Southport triple killer serving a 52-year sentence, is under investigation for allegedly attacking a Prison officer at HMP Belmarsh. Rudakubana allegedly poured boiling water from a heated kettle onto the officer. The officer was briefly hospitalized as a precaution but is expected to return to work next week. This incident follows other security breaches at HMP Belmarsh, raising concerns about prison safety. Assaults on prison staff in England and Wales have reached a ten-year high, prompting calls for increased security measures.
