Crime and Punishment

"I don't think that even those who have horrible experiences in their lives can match what happened that night. It was so gruesome and long-lasting and they were so helpless to do anything that no matter how hardened or how many other horrible experiences they might have gone through, this was by far the worst."
"The family [of the murdered inmate] came out, as they always have, in numbers, to try to get some answers, to sit through the[court] procedure and make sure that justice is done. [They were] obviously still grieving, and when events like this arise, their feelings of loss come back. They were tearful throughout the last two days of appearances. The mood in the courtroom, I guess, is quiet and somber to a great extent."
"When someone dies in the custody of Her Majesty the Queen, and it’s not of natural causes, under the coroner’s act there’s a mandatory inquest to determine not only the facts surrounding the death, but to make recommendations to prevent similar deaths in the future."
"There was a significant amount of evidence brought out at the preliminary hearing both in regard to the events of Oct. 31 2013 when Adam was murdered, and additionally the systemic failures at Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre that made it all possible."
"I’m hoping the province [Ontario] takes an objective view of the shortcomings of the institution and takes positive steps to change it. Whether that means tearing the place down and starting over, or changing the supervision model significantly. I don’t have all the answers to that, but clearly something needs to be done."
Kevin Egan, lawyer

A high fence lines the outside of the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, a maximum security prison on Exeter Road, in London on Wednesday July 25, 2012    Craig Glover/Postmedia

"I see a dead body watching television, anything like that, and it brings it right back."
"You can't forget something like that. It's not just the fact that it happened. It's the way it happened."
Former prison inmate [name withheld]

"I've been involved in organized crime. I've done all kinds of things for money."
"I don't know how I'm going to deal with this [memory of event]."
Former prison inmate [name withheld]

A 29-year-old man, Adam Kargus, was incarcerated in the London, Ontario Elgin-Mioddlesex Detention Centre after being sentenced to 165 days in  jail. Little could he have known that when he used stolen IDs to buy cellphones in his home city of Sarnia, he would end up beaten to death by a fellow inmate in the cell they shared. Jail employees discovered his battered body the morning following his brutal death on October 31, 2013 in the prison's shower room. Blunt force trauma the cause of death, according to the autopsy that followed.

Adam Kargus

The murdered man's cellmate, Anthony Maurice George, was charged with second-degree murder and was to have stood trial, but made a surprise guilty plea two days into the trial. Two other inmates were charged with being an accessory after the fact; two correctional officers and a prison manager faced charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life; four more correctional officers and a manager were suspended with pay a year later for their actions on the night of and day following the murder, and ultimately five correctional officers were dismissed from their employ in relation to their actions after the death of Adam Kargus.

The day of Adam Kargus's beating death, corrections officers were watching prisoners in the prison cell unit in a common area called the range. George on several occasions, assaulted Kargus, but there was no reaction from the corrections staff. Later, in early evening, around 8:00 p.m. they were both placed in their shared cell for the night. The hours-long assaults by 32-year-old George on Adam Kargus began, in partial view of other prisoners and in full hearing of all the prisoners on the cell block.

What began around 8:00 p.m. finally concluded just after ten in a series of chokeholds, punches, kicks and stomps. Kargus made an effort to defend himself, to ward off his attacker; he is even seen in a cell video, seeming to plead with  his attacker to stop, although it isn't quite clear that he might instead have been appealing to others on the cell block to help him. No one could intervene physically however, because all the prisoners were locked in their cells. They could hear what was happening and most reacted, but fruitlessly.

When the attack was over and Kargus, the video showed George wiping down the walls and windows of the cell. Then he appeared to black out, after which he moved to a window to make a thumbs-down gesture followed by a throat-slashing move, obviously conveying a message to those able to see him. When morning arrived the cells were unlocked and George exited, then waited for a corrections officer to leave. He then scoops a pile of sheets out of the cell, and calls to other inmates to help him clean the cell, while he himself drags Kargus's body into the showers.

A joint lawsuit has been filed representing six of the inmates claiming they have been left with psychological damage and trauma following the event, when they were forced to witness a murder, themselves  helpless to do anything to come to the aid of the victim. They watched and they heard the assault. They also shouted for help but were ignored and even, they claim, mocked. And when the following day they watched the murder boast of his exploit amidst the bloody evidence, that capped their experience.

The suit seeks $15-million in damages from the province, the detection centre and its employees on the basis that the atrocity infringe on inmates' Charter rights to security and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. While George initially claimed not guilty, citing that he had blacked out, he appeared to have changed his plea after watching the video documenting his actions and the murder that ensued. The trial was in its second day when he changed his plea to guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility in 10 years.

Despite the inmates' frantic calls for help hoping to stop the battering that was being inflicted on Kargus, no officers responded. Prison policy states that checks are to take place each half-hour. Not only did no one in authority respond to the calls for help, the normal checks meant to take place irrespective of any unusual events also failed to take place. Banging on their prison cell doors, shouting, screaming was of no avail, there was no reaction, no response and no way to stop George from murdering Kargus.

The inmates that have initiated the lawsuit have asked their names to be kept private for their protection. Media coverage had seen them facing retribution from other inmates along with correctional officers in the past, over this case. 

Video grabs from Elgin Middlesex jail show Anthony George cleaning up the morning after Adam Kargus was killed.   Morris Lamont/Postmedia

Lawsuit Statement of Claim: The inmate with a view of Kargus’s cell “witnessed Adam’s face at his cell window while George held him in a choke hold and made loud sounds like a ‘war whoop.’ (He) could see the terror in Adam’s eyes as he was choked into unconsciousness and lowered to the floor. (He) could see George apparently stomping on Adam and committing other assaults for a prolonged period of time. He could see blood all over the windows of Adam’s cell.”
That inmate and the others “over a prolonged period of time, heard repeated screams and other cries for help from Adam as well as various other sounds associated with a prolonged and vicious assault,” the statements of claim say.
“Several times during the brutal and prolonged assault (inmates) heard Adam scream in pain, yell for help, plead to be released from the cell and at one point cry out that he was being raped. (Inmates) also heard repeated loud banging of the cell door.