Prison Couldn’t Prove Handmade Knives Belonged To Man Serving Life For Murder

Article content

An inmate serving a life sentence for two gruesome knife murders has won his court challenge of a disciplinary charge after two handmade knives and a key were found in “a very good hiding spot” in his prison cell.

Article content

Guards found the dangerous contraband hidden within the legs of the bed frame that had been unbolted from the floor in the cell of Jamie Cliff.

A prison investigation, however, was not able to prove Cliff put it there or knew it was there because the institution didn’t log whether his cell was searched prior to him being assigned to it, a Federal Court judge has ruled.

The search of Cliff’s cell in Warkworth Institution, a medium-security prison near Campbellford, Ont., was a lawful and fruitful one.

Two shanks, which are what secret jail-made slashing or stabbing weapons are called, and a key to an unspecified lock were found inside the bed frame’s legs, which were supposed to be bolted to the floor.

Cliff pleaded not guilty to the institutional disciplinary charge of being in possession of contraband.

Article…