A memorial plaque with a laser-etched image of Christopher Young wearing a Santa hat sits on a shelf at his father's Halifax home.

"That's how I'll always remember my son, as a happy guy," said Gerry Young, 61.

However, the grieving parent said his 33-year-old son's suicide on April 26 — the fifth of six deaths in Nova Scotia jails in the past 18 months — should be remembered as an example of how the provincial corrections system is failing to protect inmates' lives.

"I guarantee you this could ha…