Lawyer questions why corrections official did 'off the record' interview with Errol Greene inquest witness

The lawyer representing Errol Greene's widow at the inquest into his death at the Winnipeg Remand Centre wants to know why a Manitoba corrections official did an "off the record" interview with an incarcerated witness prior to the inquest.

Lawyer Corey Shefman said the interview by the assistant superintendent of Milner Ridge Correctional Centre, which was not recorded on audio or video, was conducted in December at the correctional centre.

The witness who was interviewed, Michael Redhead, is scheduled to testify at the inquest on Wednesday. He was in the Winnipeg Remand Centre at the time of Greene's death.

Greene, who had epilepsy, had two seizures at the remand centre and died on May 1, 2016.

The inquest, called by the chief medical officer to determine the circumstances and events leading to Greene's death, began last Monday.

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Shefman raised his concerns about the assistant superintendent's interview with the witness to Judge Heather Pullan on Friday, at the end of the first week of the inquest. He said witness interviews are typically conducted by inquest counsel, not by parties with standing.

He told the court Redhead approached Greene's widow, Rochelle Pranteau, last year and gave her a handwritten statement of what he saw in the remand centre when Greene died.

Shefman said Pranteau gave him that note on Dec. 21, 2017, and he notified inquest counsel and the lawyers for Manitoba Justice.

"The problem was that the corrections officer went to him and said 'I want to take a statement from you,'" Shefman told CBC News in an interview Friday.

"And when you're a prisoner in jail, it's very difficult for you to say no when the second-in-command of the institution says they want to take a statement from you."

Sean Boyd, who is the lawyer for Manitoba Justice at the inquest, responded in court on Friday to Shefman's concern, saying "there is nothing sinister about it."

Boyd said it is normal for staff to go and talk to inmates when matters like this come up.

"[Redhead] gave a statement relatively similar to the note," said Boyd.

"Mr. Redhead communicated to Rochelle that he felt intimidated and that he felt that he was afraid of what would happen to him as a result of his testimony, and I communicated that to the other lawyers," Shefman told CBC News.

Shefman told the court he had no evidence that intimidation has taken place, but wanted what he perceives as a conflict on the inquest record.

Redhead is currently being held at Headingley Correctional Centre. 

"I am confident … the lawyers for corrections will ensure that their client will protect Mr. Redhead and treat with the respect he is owed both as a human being and as a witness in the inquest," Shefman told CBC News.