[1] He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his work in re-establishing a functioning judicial system in the Netherlands following World War II.
[7] The 13 accused were on trial for a torture-murder session held on the night of 17-18 April 1971 during the Kingston Penitentiary riot and were charged with first degree murder for the deaths of Brian Ensor and Bertrand Robert.
[8] He ordered the court bailiffs to turn away from the courtroom visitor's gallery people who not properly dressed in his opinion as he made clear his distaste for hippies.
[8] Henderson took upon himself to pressure both the Crown attorneys and the defense lawyers to reach a deal for a plea bargain to give the "Kingston 13" light prison sentences.
[14] When sentencing Glen Morris, the prisoner whom several of the Crown's witnesses accused of drinking the blood of Ensor, Henderson asked of him "You'll be a good boy from now on?
[15] The outcome of the "Kingston 13" trial was widely considered to be a "complete miscarriage of justice" as the gang led by Beaucage had tortured the "undesirables" and had killed two of them.
[16] Furthermore, judges are expected to be neutral and impartial, and many felt that Henderson had acted wrongly in taking the lead in starting the talks for plea bargain to end the trial.
[16] In a frontpage story in the Globe & Mail, which featured a photograph of Henderson in his judicial robes was the headline "Secret Deal Settled Kingston trial.
Henderson also stated that one of the accused, David Shepley, had attempted suicide as he expected to be convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, which he found to be deeply depressing.
But in this case there are fears in penitentiaries across Canada that the sentences are so light as to constitute an invitation on the part of inmates to follow the same course of action taken by those in Kingston".