Two weeks after prisoners at the Remand Yard in Golden Grove embarked on a hunger strike to highlight their anger over the delays in the justice system, Prisons Inspector Daniel Khan is appealing to the prison population to remain sensible and reconsider their decision. Referring to the alleged strike by prisoners whose relatives claimed they had stopped eating and drinking, Khan admitted: “The frustration of the prisoners due to the delays in starting their matters is becoming apparent by their behaviour when they appear before judges and magistrates.” The hunger strike, which allegedly began on May 19, continues to be denied by prison officials.
Reflecting on a similar strike in June 2011, Khan said the move was a powerful and effective tool to highlight the prisoners plights. However, he urged the current prisoners engaged in the strike to “drink water, eat something when they feel weak and are well enough to resume the strike, and also seek medical attention.” Khan was unable to confirm reports that two prisoners had been treated for dehydration during the current strike. Revealing, however, that the frustration of prisoners was mounting, Khan spoke of an incident that occurred at Port-of-Spain High Court three weeks ago, when a prisoner spat upon a Legal Aid-appointed attorney who had withdrawn from his matter.
In another incident, a prisoner had become mentally ill during his incarceration and reports had been received from officers at the Hall of Justice that the prisoner had started eating light-bulbs while locked in a cell. He said officers were still unable to understand how the man reached the ceiling and was able to remove the bulbs. He said prisoners, some of whom had been waiting for five years and more for their trials to begin, were now becoming “more vocal” about what they wanted and how the judicial delays were affecting them. In December 2012, Khan submitted a 500-page report to Justice Minister Christlyn Moore examining areas of construction, management of the prisons, discipline and mental well-being of prisoners, and reformation.
In the report, Dr Iqbal Ghany wrote that due to the poor conditions in the nation’s prisons, 50 per cent of long-term incarcerated people were more likely to suffer from mental illness than those who remained free or the “revolving door criminals.” Khan said although prisoners beg for their matters to begin when they appear before a judge, “there is nothing the judges can do.”
He said out of a total of nine judges there are two vacancies following the elevation of former Justice Anthony Carmona to President and the departure of Justice Andre Mon Desir, who has moved to another jurisdiction. In the report is the issue of reasonable bail and over-crowding in the prisons. In April 2012, out of a total prison population of approximately 3,700, prisoners awaiting trial were found to make up more than 50 per cent of this number, amounting to over 1,900.
Khan stressed that a citizen of T&T enjoyed a constitutional right to reasonable bail. He said while some prisoners will not be entitled to bail as they may be charged with an unbailable offence or may be denied bail due to their antecedents, the majority of remanded prisoners were on bail but cannot access it. 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.” Under the heading Delays in the Criminal Justice System, Khan’s report stated: “It is no secret that the Criminal Justice System has an alarming backlog of cases to try and there is serious delay in trying matters. “An accused person charged for an indictable offence would spend an average of six to ten years from the date he was charged to disposition of his criminal matter. Those charged with non-bailable offences or who are granted bail and are unable to access bail would spend this time in conditions which amount to cruel and unusual punishment.”
According to the Judiciary’s Annual Reports of the last six years, 61 per cent of High Court trials resulted in acquittals. There is no compensation to these freed men for having spent long periods in poor conditions even they have been found not guilty. Although delays are caused by several factors, the backlog of criminal cases at the High Court is evident from the fact that for the period 2009 -2010, 132 indictments were filed and only 70 were disposed of, which represented a little more than 50 per cent. The majority of prisons complaints are about the delay in hearing matters. As the Ministry of Justice, which is the Ministry in charge of funding the Judiciary, serious investments must be made to the criminal justice system which would include more courts, more judges, improvements to the Department of Public Prosecutions and investment of resources into the system. These investments would greatly assist the overcrowding in prisons and alleviate much frustration among prisoners,” Khan recommended.----
