The Sask. Pen in Prince Albert. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)
Not guilty in Sask. Pen beating

“Nasty, brutish”: Judge describes life at P.A. Pen

Apr 1, 2024 | 11:20 AM

As he found Joshua Bird not guilty of beating fellow inmate Elwin Goodpipe in the max unit of the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert, Justice Richard Danyliuk used the words of Thomas Hobbes to describe what life is like in the federal correctional facility.

“This is an apt description for life in a maximum-security unit such as that in the Saskatchewan Penitentiary,” Danyliuk wrote.

Goodpipe, age 36, was badly beaten in October 2019 in a cell in the penitentiary and treated at the Victoria Hospital for a broken arm and serious head injuries. He remained in the hospital for a week after the incident.

Nasty and brutish could also be used to describe the beating Goodpipe received.

Investigators found a “very large” amount of bloodstains in his cell; the bunk, all four walls, the floor and even the ceiling.

Goodpipe is in jail as a designated dangerous offender following a conviction for manslaughter in Regina.

Bird, age 35, is also from Regina and in jail for attempted murder and has remained in jail since 2010 following a series of four assaults. He was previously convicted on a second-degree murder charge from a gang-related beating in 2010.

The penitentiary incident was investigated by Prince Albert RCMP as a gang offence and included inmates named Sewap, Green and Bear, all members of the same gang. No first names were given in the written decision posted on-line.

All of the inmates, including Goodpipe, refused to make a statement to police but charges were laid anyway based on video surveillance of the area.

During a game of cards that involved Goodpipe, Bear, Green and Sewap, Goodpipe and Sewap had a dispute and the two men ended up back at Goodpipe’s cell to settle it.

According to Bird’s testimony at trial, the fight was supposed to be one-on-one but turned out to be three-on-one. Bird said he stayed in the doorway and did not take part in the altercation except for going in for eight seconds to tell the others to stop after Goodpipe was beaten unconscious.

Following the beating, the other inmates put their clothing in the washing machine where they were later recovered by police.

Bird was charged as a party to the offence but Danyliuk said there was no evidence that he had planned the fight or taken part in it. No one contradicted his statement that he tried to stop the beating and found him not guilty.

susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

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