A Supreme Court decision released on Wednesday described how "harsh conditions" at the aging St. John's penitentiary had caused undue harm to an inmate, and took six months off his sentence for enduring them.
A Newfoundland judge reduced an inmate s time in jail after ruling that "harsh conditions" inside a notorious St. John s facility during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the offender s mental and physical health issues.
Posted: May 07, 2021 1:51 PM NT | Last Updated: May 7
Kirk Keeping, seen here on May 7, 2021, threw his 1st-degree murder trial into upheaval, saying he didn t have confidence in his lawyers. Jury selection was due to start the next day, but now the trial is on hold indefinitely. (Garrett Barry/CBC)
The defendant in a first-degree murder trial in central Newfoundland has fired his legal aid lawyers the day before jury selection was to get underway.
Kirk Keeping s move in Supreme Court on Friday morning means his murder trial is now delayed indefinitely.
Keeping is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Chantel John, a 28-year-old woman from the Miawpukek First Nation in Conne River in January 2019.