Murdered prisoner Aimard “Ralph” Placid Lima, who was beaten to death while at Golden Grove Remand Yard last weekend, will be laid to rest today. The funeral will be held at 3 pm today at the La Divina Pastora Roman Catholic Church, Siparia. He will be laid to rest at the Siparia Cemetery after the service. Lima, 47, of Lilly Street, Siparia, was beaten to death, allegedly by other prisoners.
He was sent to Remand Yard after he appeared before a Siparia Magistrate last week Friday on an outstanding warrant for a 25-year-old rape case. Last Sunday night, prison reports state, Lima got into an altercation in a cell and was beaten to death by prisoners. However, his relatives are disputing this report since they claim Lima was murdered by prison officers. A second autopsy, conducted by Professor Hubert Daisley last week at Boodoo’s Funeral Home, Penal, revealed all of Lima’s ribs were broken on the left side and his left lung had collapsed.
Daisley also concluded that a long, blunt object was inserted into Lima’s rectum, which caused massive internal injuries. Lima had also been stabbed. Yesterday, his brother Brian said Lima’s two children are not handling his brother’s death well especially since yesterday was Father’s Day. Brian said Lima’s daughter is writing her final nursing exams this semester and he believes if she fails, the State should pay for her to resit her exams. “It is not her fault. Her father was killed. It has been really hard for her,” he said.
He said the hurtful part of the entire ordeal is the fact that no one from the Government or the Ministry of National Security visited the family since Lima’s death. “It is very ridiculous. He died in the hands of the law, which is supposed to protect him and up to now nobody contacted us or make a phone call or anything,” he said. On Thursday Justice Minister Christlyn Moore issued a media release extending condolences to the Lima family. Brian questioned how could he accept her condolences when she has not acknowledged the family.
“We feel neglected. How I feeling, is like because he was a prisoner no one care. He was not a hardcore prisoner...he was sent there and in three days he was beaten to death,” he said. He explained that the family has initiated legal steps against the state for failing to protect his brother while he was in their custody. Moore, in her statement, said Lima’s death was “unacceptable.” She said her ministry remained committed to attaining better conditions for inmates and prison officers.