Correctional officer charged for fatal shooting of inmate at hospital granted $600,000 bail

Correctional officer Everard Ferguson, who is charged with manslaughter arising from the fatally shooting of an inmate under guard at a hospital during an alleged confrontation, was on Wednesday granted $600,000 bail with reporting conditions in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.

Ferguson, who is being presented by King's Counsel Peter Champagnie, is to return to court on December 1.

Allegations are that Ferguson was guarding an inmate at the Kingston Public Hospital on December 24, 2022, when he shot and killed him.

It alleged that the inmate, Winston Richards, attacked another correctional officer.

Ferguson intervened and was allegedly attacked by the inmate.

Ferguson claimed that he opened fire in self-defence.

However, it was brought to the attention of the court that the incident was captured on CCTV and that the footage did not show that Ferguson was under attack at the time.

Ferguson was charged with manslaughter following a recent ruling by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In making the case for bail, Champagnie indicated that it was regrettable that there wasn't any accompanying audio recording to the footage demonstrating that the inmate was intent on killing his client.

Champagnie also brought to the court's attention that the inmate had been in several altercations with other persons at the correctional facility where he was serving a term of imprisonment for possession of an illegal firearm.

Ferguson was then offered bail.

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