William James "Billy" Knight (17 March 1943 – 10 December 1978) was a Canadian criminal who served as the leader of the 1971 Kingston Penitentiary riot.
[2] He amassed a lengthy criminal record as a child as he took to shoplifting from the local A&P grocery store to feed himself, his parents and his siblings.
[2] In January 1970, he escaped from the Collins Bay Institution and fled into the wilderness of northern Ontario in a stolen automobile.
[1] The Canadian journalist Catherine Fogarty described him as: "A well-liked, mouthy type, Knight never backed down from an argument.
He was a strong advocate for exposing conditions within the prison and was always making impassioned speeches to anyone who would listen...He was a natural leader among the inmates".
[3] Knight was writing an autobiography, The Walking Dead, which he believed would be a bestseller that would force public opinion to change prison conditions.
[6] Knight, who believed that his plan was about to exposed, punched Decker in the stomach and shouted "That's the last fucking order you're going to give!
[8] Three other guards, Ed Barret, Joseph Valier and Douglas Dittrich standing by the prison bell were assaulted.
[10] Knight used the phone system to call the warden, Arthur Jarvis, to tell him to order the guards to stop shooting as he threatened: "If there are any more shots fired, we'll start cutting off some fingers".
[13] Caron wrote: "Billy Knight went on expounding his ideals from is lofty principles, foolishly blind to the negative whispers and silent maneuvers around him...One of these individuals with a mercurial temper was a handsome twenty-three old convict by the name of Brian Beaucage.
"[18] Knight answered: "For a start, we want positive results in our desire for decent living conditions"[18] Jarvis backed down and allowed the 64 prisoners in the gymnasium to go into the dome to join the uprising.
[19] Caron wrote: "Inadvertently Billy Knight ended with one very gruesome responsibility he hadn't planned on: keeping alive fourteen child molesters and rapists in the protection unit".
[23] Together with MacKenzie, Knight saved the life of a child molester, Brian Ensor, whom the other prisoners were trying to throw to his death from the third floor.
[27] Knight told Retzer he wanted to call a press conference to address the Canadian people about his demands.
[29] Knight called the uprising a peaceful political protest, which led Jarvis who had also attended the conference to say: "You threatened to cut off their fingers if any more shots were fired".
[32] Knight invited the reporter Henry Champ of CTV News to tour the prison along with his camera crew, an offer that was accepted.
[35] At the first meeting, Desmond Morton, an Irish immigrant and law professor at the University of Toronto asked Knight what he wanted.
[40] Knight told Arthur Martin of the citizens' committee: "Without a promise of total immunity, we won't guarantee the safety of the hostages".
[41] The citizens' committee came to respect MacKenzie, whose cool demeanor and common sense stood in marked contrast to Knight's angry behaviour and absurdly unrealistic demands.
[42] Martin told Knight: "You have the choice between hanging for the capital murder of a prison guard or accepting charges of kidnapping".
[42] Finally, Knight accepted that a pardon was not possible and stated: "All we ask is the Solicitor-General give his word we will not be mistreated".
[47] Despite his brave words, it was clear that Knight's authority had collapsed and that the inmates were now led by rival factions loyal to Beaucage and MacKenzie.
[53] On 17 August 1971, the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of forcible seizure while Knight refused, saying the taking of hostages was only an act of protest.
[55] The Crown Attorney, John Sampson, asked Decker if he could identify Knight as the man who punched him in the stomach on the night of 14 April.
[56] Another two of the guards taken hostage, Joseph Vallier and Douglas Dale, failed to identify Knight as being in the courtroom when asked to do so by Sampson.
[59] Knight told Haggart about why he had started the riot: "I had a bellyful of bitterness, frustration and disgust that was slowly eating me alive".
[60] Knight told Haggart that he carefully planned the uprising in advance for a month and that "I anticipated seizing the entire institution".
[58] Knight was held in solitary confinement at Millhaven for almost a year after the Kingston riot, and was then sent to a prison in British Columbia.
[3] During his period of freedom, Knight stole an automobile, used a gun to rob a Sunoco gas station and raped a 15-year-old girl.
[3] The girl was an employee of the Sunoco gas station that Knight robbed, and he forced her at gunpoint into his stolen car.