Richard Warnica's investigation into the death of John Parker in the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, drawing on internal government reviews obtained through freedom of information requests and never before reported on, as well as court transcripts and interviews, reveals lax policies about double bunking potentially violent inmates, and how overcrowding in our jail system increases the deadly risk to the legally innocent awaiting trial. Warnica's in-depth reporting was supported by a reader-funded Tyee Investigative Reporting Fellowship.
In This Series
Death in Remand: a Tyee Inquiry
Custodial 'remand' is where we send the legally innocent to await trial. So why did John Parker die there? The reader-funded series starts today.
Death In Remand: 'A Gut Feeling'
Some instinct told the guard to put John Parker in a cell with Victor Hurtado. The decision was deadly. Part one of a reader-funded Tyee inquiry.
Death in Remand: Blood Evidence
Did John Parker's cellmate mean to kill him? In deciding, the judge also pointed a finger at jailers' practices. Part two of a reader-funded Tyee inquiry.
Death in Remand: Contributing Factors
The lawyer for John Parker's lethal cellmate says 'there is no way' his client 'should have been put in a cell with anyone.' Part three in a reader-funded inquiry.
Death in Remand: A Jail Crammed with Risk
Guards say North Fraser Pretrial Centre where John Parker was killed by the cellmate he feared is like other remand facilities: dangerously crowded. Fourth in a reader-funded series.
Death in Remand: Stacked Deck
Fewer accused given bail means strained jails and dangerous conditions that contributed to John Parker's death. Last in a reader-funded series.