Prisons officials continue to deny there is a hunger strike at the Remand Yard in Golden Grove, Arouca. Prisoners, however, continue to tell their family members and even the media, via illegal cellphone calls, that they are continuing their action in protest of the lengthy delays in their matters.
Although several attempts to contact Prisons Commissioner Martin Martinez were unsuccessful yesterday, as calls to his cellphone went unanswered, other senior officers said claims by prisoners and their relatives that the prisoners had stopped eating, drinking and had refused taking airing time were false. Speaking with the T&T Guardian, the officers, who requested their names not be used, said prisoners were upset over the delays in the justice system, which had stymied the start of their matters.
Relatives said some prisoners had been languishing for more than five years awaiting the start of their trials. Claims that a hunger strike began on May 19 preceded complaints by prisoner Stanley Goodridge last Wednesday, when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar. Goodridge complained about the conditions he was being subjected to while being kept at the facility.
In custody since August 2012, Goodridge said he had to share an overcrowded cell, slept on the floor, was not receiving an “enhanced diet,” had no access to drugs and cellphones and complained about the generally unsanitary conditions behind bars. Through his attorney Kirk Hogan, the court learned that letters had been sent to Martinez more than one year ago, but that a response was yet to be received.
Meanwhile, the 500-page report submitted to Justice Minister Christlyn Moore by Inspector of Prisons Daniel Khan in December 2012, is yet to be made public. Aspects of the comprehensive report speak to the concerns raised by Goodridge, in addition to providing a holistic view of the entire prison system.
The report specifies defects in the construction, management and discipline of the prisons, suggested improvements for maintaining and improving the governance and discipline of the prisons and for promoting the reformation of prisoners. Contacted yesterday for a comment on the concerns raised by Goodridge, Khan shied away from addressing the issue of the sale of narcotics and the use of cellphones in prison, but said his report did address the hygiene, diet and other areas raised.
“Everything is in my report. It’s been 60 years that we have been operating under the same rules and we need new rules. The 2012 draft prison rules keep getting delayed but we need new rules and to set new standards and then try to meet those standards.” Khan is hopeful that after fully digesting the report, the Government will make it public. If not, the T&T Guardian understands Khan is considering releasing it himself.
In the 22-page executive summary of the report obtained by the T&T Guardian, Khan noted that the current system had fallen short of satisfying the aftercare needed for prisoners, pointing out that the office which had been assigned this task was now defunct and had been replaced by welfare officers. As such, the report acknowledged the work being done by former inmate Wayne Chance, who heads “Vision on a Mission,” which assists with prisoner reintegration into society.
The Draft Prison Rules 2012 for T&T, Khan said, is a holistic and comprehensive document which, it is hoped, will raise the bar for more humane prison conditions in conformity with United Nations standards for the treatment of prisoners. Khan wrote, “Certain minimum standards of imprisonment must always be observed, irrespective of the country’s level of development and even if economic or budgetary considerations may make compliance with these obligations difficult.”
In the report, sanitation facilities at the Frederick Street prison were described as “primitive and degrading,” as it found that in the absence of integral sanitation, inmates were forced to defecate in full view of other inmates on pieces of paper or cardboard, which are then placed in discarded juice boxes, plastic bags and packages. All faecal matter is then placed in an uncovered pail located outside each cell. In overcrowded cells, prisoners often sleep with their heads next to the faecal matter, it added.
Writing that “the prison conditions within Trinidad and Tobago are unabatedly appalling,” Khan said what was most startling were the statistics that reveal the obvious overcrowding at the Port-of-Spain Prison, Carerra Prison and Remand Yard Prison at Golden Grove, where the number of inmates is more than double the institutions’ capacities. Checks also revealed that the Maximum Security Prison (MSP) was severely underutilised, with only 25 per cent of the prison cells being used.
Khan said while the simple solution would be to transfer prisoners from the overcrowd facilities, a lack of staff hampered the use of 600 cells at the MSP. Praising efforts to encourage inmates to make positive changes, Khan acknowledged the establishment of the prison radio station located at the MSP, which is known as RISE (Rehabilitating Inmates Seeking Empowerment) Maximum Radio, an initiative endorsed and sponsored by the Ministry of Justice and the British High Commission.
Presenting 48 recommendations to improve the nation’s prisons and prison system, Khan wrote, “Such recommendations include the shutdown of the Port-of-Spain Prison. The time has come to put an end to the long, lingering, agonising pain of the Port of Spain Prison. Euthanasia seems to be the only humanitarian remedy.”
Another recommendation includes an engineering team being established to visit each prison and present suggestions on improving the infrastructure. Turning to the issue of prison brutality and excessive use of force, the report revealed that for the period September 2005 to May 2012, the State had paid or is liable to pay awards, interest apart, of more than ten million dollars in compensation to litigants with respect to actions brought by prisoners on a claim of excessive use of force by prison officers.
“It is humbly submitted that deterrence should be achieved through disciplinary proceedings that punish prison officers for the use of excessive force and also punish prisoners who use violence against prison officers,” one of the recommendations stated. The current prison rules provide that prison officers and prisoners may be punished at a disciplinary hearing concerning breaches of the prison rules, which include beating a prisoner. Such punishments include dismissal from service for officers.
There have been calls for lawmakers to make offending officers personally bear the costs for breaches of the law that occur during the course of their employment, so that the taxpayer would not be called upon to foot the bill.
Khan pointed out that while “such a change would certainly financially punish prison officers who abuse prisoners, it would also have the unintended consequence of making the prison officer feel restricted and apprehensive of using reasonable force for fear of unsubstantiated claims of excessive force being alleged, which may send the prisons into chaos as officers will not want to use appropriate force at all. Such a change may also result in officers resigning and deterring others from enlisting.”
In April 2012, out of a total prison population of approximately 3,700 more than 50 per cent or an average of 1,900 prisoners are awaiting trial. Khan wrote, “Judicial officers must be more mindful of these facts when granting bail and the bail system needs to be revolutionised, as it is unacceptable that the prisons are crowded with remanded prisoners who enjoy the constitutional right to the presumption of innocence.”