Former supervisor appeals conviction for causing Fredericton teen's death on job
CBC
A former construction supervisor who caused the death of his teenaged employee is appealing his conviction, and wants to be released on bail while the New Brunswick Court of Appeal considers his case.
Jason King's defence lawyer is arguing a judge erred in considering certain evidence during his trial for criminal negligence causing the death of 18-year-old Michael Henderson in August 2018.
Following a three-week trial this spring, New Brunswick Court of King's Bench Justice Thomas Christie found the 46-year-old guilty, and sentenced him on Sep. 12 to three years in prison.
In a notice of appeal filed the next day, Patrick Hurley, King's lawyer, said Christie made several errors during the trial, including admitting into evidence a statement King provided to WorkSafeNB employees, as well as by "misinterpreting and misapprehending" the responses King provided in that statement.
Hurley is also arguing Christie erred in determining King breached the standard required of a reasonable supervisor in the absence of evidence establishing the requisite standard required of a reasonable supervisor.
As a result, Hurley said King is asking the court to either quash his conviction and acquit him of the charge, or quash the conviction and order a new trial.
CBC News asked Hurley and Sabrina Winters, another defence lawyer, for an interview about the appeal, and in an email Winters said they're unable to comment as the matter is before the court.
Testimony at trial revealed Henderson was working on a project at the City of Fredericton's sewage plant on Barker Street, which involved constructing a large concrete, pool-like structure known as a clarifier.
The clarifier had a hole in the middle, and at the bottom of that hole was a horizontal pipe running several metres to the bottom of a nearby manhole.
In the weeks leading up to Henderson's death, King discussed plans to use a large inflatable plug to seal the horizontal pipe and then fill the manhole with water to test whether the pipe was watertight.
On the morning of Aug. 16, Henderson was cleaning out the bottom of the hole at the centre of the clarifier.
King started filling the manhole with water shortly before noon that day and kept it running as Henderson and other workers went for lunch.
Henderson resumed work around 12:30 p.m, and shortly before 1 p.m. the plug slid out of the pipe while he was in the hole, pinning him to the wall as water rose above his head. He remained under water for several minutes before first responders were able to free him.
During the trial, King testified in his own defence that he thought Henderson wouldn't be going back into the hole after lunch.
Flu cases across Canada are on the rise and may push hospitals to their limits over the holidays and into the new year, leading health officials in regions across the country to warn people not to visit emergency rooms unless it's absolutely necessary.
More than 30 years after Canada's military allowed women to serve in combat roles, it's now specifically designing uniforms and body armour to fit their bodies.
The holiday season has arrived in Thunder Bay, and that means reduced hours, or closures, for businesses, city offices, and other amenities.
As Toronto’s food scene continues to grow, some in the industry say the pool of professional chefs hasn’t kept up with demand.
Police have charged a truck driver from the Hamilton area in a hit-and-run crash that killed a tow truck operator who had been stopped while helping a driver on the side of Highway 401 outside Woodstock, Ont.
Power has been restored to most of Haines Junction after a problem earlier on Monday at the local generating station.
A 56-year-old man will return to court on Tuesday for a charge of second-degree murder, laid in a case London police have called an act of femicide.
The chairman of the committee leading Newfoundland and Labrador's independent review of the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding with Quebec is backing the impartiality of his three-man team.
The province has taken a major step toward restarting its onshore natural gas industry.
Allan Legere, serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Alberta, has been denied a request for full parole.
Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club has asked a judge to decide whether the City of Winnipeg can ignore a provincial decision about residential housing slated to rise next to the club.
A Saskatoon woman says she watched her neighbour's police standoff play out in real time on social media.
One person is dead from carbon monoxide poisoning, following an incident Friday at a building in Regina.