Inniss was born in Saint Kitts, where he attended secondary school, and went on to study at the University College of West Indies, graduating in 1961.
After working as a schoolteacher for a period, he went to England to study law, eventually being called to the bar as a member of the Middle Temple.
He entered the civil service on returning to Saint Kitts,[3] and in June 1967 was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his work.
[4] In August 1975, Inniss succeeded Sir Milton Allen as Governor of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, an Associated State of the United Kingdom.
Simmonds consequently wrote to Elizabeth II to request the removal of his commission as governor, which occurred in November of that year.