Did you read the article ‘Brickdam lock-ups unfit for humans, former detainee says’? It appeared in the Stabroek News of Monday October 27. If you did not read it I would suggest that you read even a small portion of it as new acts are on our law books which could entitle many of us, or our relatives to spend a night or two in a lock-up.
Peter Ramsaroop in the book which he optimistically titled Hope For Our Nation gives more details of life in a lock-up. Here goes:
“Prison sanitary and medical conditions are deplorable, particularly in these ‘temporary’ cells. These cells are over crowded, dump and bare, lacking the most basic amenities, such as beds, washbasins, furniture, utensils and plumbing facilities. The toilet is nothing more than a hole in the floor. At night prisoners lay down on a thin pallet on the floor. As for food, meals are not provided, so the prisoner is dependent upon food brought to him by friends and relatives.
“One reason that the prison system is so overcrowded is that more than 80% of the prisoners have been incarcerated for minor crimes that carry a sentence of between one and three months. Thus, the absurd situation exists in which thousands of prisoners are held behind bars for up to four years before being given a sentence of three months’ imprisonment.
“An additional reason for the overcrowding is that the parole board is reluctant to grant parole, because it lacks so many resources – such as the staff needed to monitor parolees – that it hesitates to allow these prisoners back into the general population.”
He offered recommendations:
“Prisons
“Prison overcrowding must be alleviated through innovative programmes, such as providing alternative sentencing for detainees guilty of minor offences.
*Consider alternate sentencing for minor offences.
*Create alternatives to imprisonment.
*Release ill prisoners who have completed most of their sentences.
*Supply the parole board with more resources and additional training.
*Recognize female inmates’ responsibility for their children in terms of length of sentence and facilities for family contact.”
The Chancellor of the Judiciary has stated, “Backlog of cases too much for judges.” The same thing could be said about magistrates and the cases they have to hear. Therefore we need to find a quick solution to this problem and we should not abandon our desire to have an improvement. Let us not become renowned for the Dark Cells of Guyana.
