Former Prison Superintendent Eric Henry passes, and is remembered as a no-nonsense crusader against injustice

Tributes are pouring in today, April 6, following the passing of former Prison Superintendent Eric Henry.

Reports say that a relative went to Henry’s house on Tuesday night, April 5, at about 9:10 p.m., and found him unresponsive.

He was subsequently transported to the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, where efforts to revive him failed, and he was pronounced dead by a medical doctor at about 9:56 p.m.

The 78-year-old Henry, a former police officer, is being described as a no-nonsense person who took his job as head of the prison very seriously.

Those who knew him well remember him as being very outspoken and opposed to all injustice.  Accordingly, Henry was known to telephone the local radio stations frequently and lend his voice to issues of the day.

In one instance, he came out against his former colleagues, saying that the Police are breaching the law when they stop people from recording incidents on their phones and cameras.

Henry has also long advocated for proper conditions at the country’s lone penal institution, from which he retired in 2009.  However, he did stress that the challenge was not unique to Antigua and Barbuda but was a regional problem.

During his long career, Henry served as head of security at the V. C. Bird International Airport for 10 years, commencing in 1975.

Following his stint there, he enjoyed a decade-long appointment as Superintendent of Prisons.  The late senior policeman also worked at the Ministry of Health before returning to the Prison in November 2006.