Lawyers argue over what defines a 'riot' in HMP case

What constitutes a riot? That question was at the centre of summations in a case for three men accused of taking part in a brawl inside Her Majesty'sPenitentiarythat left thejail chapel in pieces and a convicted killer bloodied and beaten.

Jody Clarke, 38, Justin Harvey, 24, and Calvin Kenny, 23, are accused of participating in a riot and assault causing bodily harm in relation to the riot, in whichKenny Green is alleged to have been a target, in February 2014.

Surveillance video from inside the chapel shows dozens of inmates filing into the chapel for the Salvation Army's Sunday service.

Green, who was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Joey Whalen,was pummelled with a church pew during the attack and was punctured by a shank that was later discovered inside the chapel.

It's unknown who brought the weapon.

• HMP riot: A step-by-step breakdown of the chapel video

Crown prosecutor DannyVavasour said the three men participated in a riot "An unlawful assembly that has begun to disturb the peace tumultuously."

Vavasour said it was a premeditated attack on Green, and that all three men took part.

However, defence lawyers said it wasn't a riot so much as a fight that Green consented to and that he knew days in advance therewould be trouble if he attended service in the chapel.

They said Green told a guard he wasn't concerned.

Getting smashed in the head with a pew or stabbed with a shank, Vavasour said, was not something Green consented to.

Clarke's lawyer submits his client was defending himself against Green and Harvey's defence is that he only smashed a pew.

Judge Colin Flynn will bringdown a verdict on April 16.