Newfoundland inmate’s sentence reduced due to poor conditions

SAINT-JEAN, NL — The sentence of a Newfoundland and Labrador inmate has been reduced by six months by a judge of the province’s Supreme Court due to « persistently » poor prison conditions at a prison in Saint John.

Judge Glen Noel ruled that the deplorable conditions to which 27-year-old Jonathan Slade was subjected at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary warranted a reduced sentence of 180 days. Mr. Slade was sentenced to four years in prison on several counts, including theft.

In his written decision, released Wednesday, Judge Noel says Mr. Slade’s health, both physical and psychological, has deteriorated in some respects since he was detained, especially while pandemic-related restrictions were in effect. vigor.

Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in Saint-Jean was opened 163 years ago.

The judge added that Mr Slade was held in a part of the prison which prevented him from moving around, despite his health problems, which caused him more pain.

Mr. Slade’s disabilities also make him incontinent. The judge noted that the place where he was being held exposed this problem to his fellow inmates, who ridiculed and humiliated him.

The provincial government has long promised to replace Her Majesty’s Penitentiary. Last November, a company received the mandate to submit a proposal for the construction of a new 276-bed establishment by the end of the year.