Executive message of support amid inmate death charges draws fire

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This article was published 23/01/2022 (1067 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A message from Manitoba’s executive director of custody corrections to Headingley Correctional Centre staff, saying he believes they were “acting in good faith” when an inmate was killed last year, has critics questioning the fair administration of justice.

William Ahmo, 45, died Feb. 14, 2021, in hospital, following a physical altercation a week earlier with the critical emergency response team at the jail west of Winnipeg.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later ruled Ahmo’s death a homicide.

On Jan 21, RCMP charged guard Robert Jeffrey Morden, 43, with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life.

After the charges were announced, executive director Greg Skelly sent an email (obtained by the Free Press) to employees, saying: “Staff health and safety is paramount and we will continue to support a safe environment for front-line staff at our facilities.”

Ahmo’s death, he wrote, was “a tragic outcome,” but “we believe staff were acting in good faith to control the critical incident.”

The suggestion a corrections staff member who’s been criminally charged was among those “acting in good faith” is troubling, say lawyers and critics.

“It’s important for leadership in this instance to instill in their staff faith in the fair administration of justice through the courts, no matter what the final outcome,” Winnipeg lawyer Danielle Morrison said Monday.

“Any messaging that suggests bias towards a particular outcome for this criminal proceeding is counterproductive to public faith in the fair administration of justice, and highly inappropriate coming from the lead of the correctional facility in question.”

Morrison’s part of the legal team representing the family of Eishia Hudson. The 16-year-old was shot and killed by Winnipeg police in April 2020, after fleeing in a stolen vehicle following a reported Liquor Mart theft.

International human rights lawyer David Matas cited a criminal code provision that says “acting in good faith” is not a defence when a person causes a bodily injury that is of itself of a dangerous nature and from which death results.

International human rights lawyer David Matas cited a criminal code provision that says “acting in good faith” is not a defence when a person causes a bodily injury that is of itself of a dangerous nature and from which death results.

“While it is understandable that a superior would stand up for those working for them, that stance is out of place in the police and corrections field when criminal behaviour of one of their own is at issue,” said Matas, who noted he’s not a criminal lawyer and only knows about Ahmo’s case from news reports.

The Winnipeg-based immigration law expert does, however, know about power imbalances.

“In a conflict between the police and the public or corrections guards and inmates, there is an imbalance of power. There needs to be guardrails in place to prevent that imbalance from becoming harmful to the public and, in the corrections setting, inmates,” Matas said Monday.

“One of those guardrails should be standing down, rather than standing up for one their own, when one of their own is accused of wrongdoing.”

The fact a police investigation led to charges against a guard should have those in charge of the jail waiting for the court to decide before pronouncing staff were “acting good faith,” the Manitoba NDP justice critic said.

“My hope is that people would want to participate in a process that will get us to a place where Manitoba citizens housed in correctional facilities are safe,” St. Johns MLA Nahanni Fontaine said. “When they’re put in custody, it’s a responsibility of the state to make sure that they actually get out alive and in one piece.”

Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen’s office did not respond to an interview request nor provide comment Monday.

Manitoba Justice and the union representing the accused guard have both declined to comment now that the matter is before the court.

The Southern Chiefs’ Organization issued a statement Monday, saying Ahmo “was a beloved member of the Sagkeeng Anicinabe First Nation.”

Sagkeeng Chief Derrick Henderson is quoted as saying Ahmo was “just one of so many of our people, who have been taken from us while in colonial justice and health-care systems.”

Henderson said he hoped having a court hear the criminal charges against a guard “results in real and transformative change when it comes to the treatment of incarcerated First Nation people.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca