bc historic news - BC Historical Federation

John Henry Joynson whowas the first guard to dieat the hands of a prisonerat the British ColumbiaPenitentiary.Photo courtesy of J. Joynson.shooting. Rounds took the rifle that lay byWilson, aimed the weapon and shot, butmissed Smith. There were no more shells inthe rifle. Rounds quickly took cover behindWilson. When Smith was close enough theguard leapt on him and wrestled him to theground. Moments later, William Carroll, thedeputy warden, and several guards equippedwith repeating rifles arrived. Smithsurrendered. The bullet that Elson had fired,grazed Wilson’s neck, and lodged in hisshoulder. The wound was not regarded as lifethreatening. Guard Joynson had been strucktwice and was mortally wounded. He bled todeath in less than an hour. Although injuredby the blow to his head, guard Craig wouldrecover in time to testify before the inquestinto Joynson’s death.Surprising to prison authorities wasthat so few prisoners sought escape. In therock-breaking yard, one of the convicts evenwent to the assistance of the injured Craig, butwas warned to keep back by Smith. Othersworking in the brickyard could have retrievedthe keys in the confusion, but no one tried.The funeral for John Henry Joynson washeld the next day in the main entrance hall ofthe penitentiary. After the service, the flagdrapedcoffin was carried to the cemetery by18 guards in three shifts. During theprocession, the two-ton brass bell in the prisonyard tolled until the coffin was lowered intothe ground. Joynson, who had a wife andchildren, had worked at the penitentiary lessthan six months. A public fund was set up forthe family and $1,400 was collected topurchase a house. The federal governmentauthorized a pension of $500 a year for thewidow.Security at the institution had clearlybeen lax. The failure of the federal governmentto pay adequate wages made the recruitmentof guards difficult. Many of the men hiredwere incompetent. (The gate keys and Craig’srevolver remained missing until the next daywhen Deputy Warden Carroll searchedWilson’s cell and found the objects hiddenaway.)On October 11, Smith and Wilson, witha neck bandage and his right arm in a slingappeared before a preliminary hearing into14 BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 39 No. 1