Father of deceased inmate hopes HMP replacement is more than an election promise
Families of dead inmates suing government, says lawyer
Neil Burry is hoping the Liberal government won't campaign on his son's death.
An empty plot of land and a promise for a new penitentiary doesn't do much to quell his cynicism, as much as he'd like to believe his boy died for change.
"That's the first thing I was thinking, that it's more like an election plea," Burry told CBC News. "But whether they do it or they don't do it, it's still not going to bring our son back, no matter what."
Chris Sutton died by suicide while incarcerated at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's on June 30, 2018. The province announced its intention to replace the pre-Confederation jail on Wednesday, in a move critics worry is an empty promise.
It was something back in the prehistoric days, he used to say.- Neil Burry
Sutton was one of four inmates to die behind bars in the last two years, prompting a review of the province's correctional system. The final report was released in February, which outlined systemic problems, as well as glaring issues with the physical structure of the penitentiary, parts of which date back to 1859.
For Burry, it's been hard seeing his son's death play out publicly. Perhaps even harder was realizing the biggest loss of his life was part of the push forward of a decades-old agenda to replace the province's largest and oldest jail.
"Our son had to die for someone to open their eyes," he said. "It was something back in the prehistoric days, he used to say."
Four days after Sutton's body was discovered in his cell, the chairperson of the province's human rights commission opened a letter from a dead man. Sutton had written her a plea for help before he ended his life.
"Here and HMP, segregation is like no other," he wrote. "It's by far the worst punishment a person can endure in a Canadian facility."
Burry said his son would tell him about the conditions in "the hole," where feces and urine were smeared on the walls and he was locked in solitary confinement for as long as 28 days at a time.
"It was just a real scumbag place, he used to call it."
Sutton did his research while behind bars, looking up things like the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, otherwise known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
His father hopes his efforts were enough to push the government to make the necessary changes to the correctional system, even though it's too late for his son.
"He spoke for everyone else but there was no justice for him in our mind."
Just demolish it and fill it over.- Neil Burry
Burry, who lives in Port Union, tries to avoid Her Majesty's Penitentiary whenever he has to come to St. John's. If the jail is replaced, there's the question of what to do with the sprawling facility.
Burry has strong feelings on that.
"Just demolish it and fill it over. Cover it over and put something else there if they have to. Just take it down. When we go in there, we don't want to see it because it brings back too many harsh memories."
Families suing government
Lawyer Bob Buckingham describes his reaction to Wednesday's announcement as "mixed."
"It's good to see something positive, in terms of the statement, but it is long overdue," he said.
Buckingham is representing the family of Doug Neary, who died while incarcerated at Her Majesty's Penitentiary one year before Sutton's death.
We don't need a fancier prison. We need to stop the cycle of people going to prison.- Bob Buckingham
The longtime defence lawyer is expecting four separate lawsuits to be brought against the provincial government within the next few months, on behalf of Neary, Sutton, Skye Martin and Samantha Piercey.
He's also been a longtime critic of the province's correctional system, and believes more is needed than just a new facility for male offenders.
"We don't need a fancier prison. We need to stop the cycle of people going to prison."
While he welcomes the proposal of a jail from this century, he'd also like to see the province develop better mental health and addictions services, and other programs to keep people out of trouble.
Buckingham wouldn't comment on the specifics of the lawsuit he is filing on behalf of Neary's family, but said he was disappointed in the report into his death filed by retired Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Supt. Marlene Jesso.
He called it "perhaps one of the most superficial and abysmal reports I have seen with respect to deaths in facilities," and said it "whitewashed" over any criminal responsibility for how Neary died.
The report did not lay blame on correctional officers or HMP officials for any of the four deaths, but named off a long list of systemic problems instead.
Buckingham said more details on alleged "criminal responsibility" will come out when he files his civil lawsuit in the next few months.
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