Three of the prisoners who fled from a Lusignan holding facility on Monday were jailed for one-year each yesterday while four others contested the charges and decried the conditions under which they had been held;
The seven had been recaptured at various times on Monday.
They appeared in court and were charged with escaping from lawful custody. Three of the men pleaded guilty and were sentenced to one year imprisonment each.
Jamal Forde, Jamal Joseph and Winston Long pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that between July 23 and 24, they escaped from the Lusignan Prison.
The four others, Tishan McKenzie, Odel Roberts, Jason Howard and Rayon Jones denied the allegation.
They were each charged separately when they appeared before Magistrate Peter Hugh in the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court.
During the court proceedings, Stabroek News was told that the inmates told the court that they escaped from a pasture and not a prison. They also complained about the poor conditions they were kept under which they blamed for their escape.
The matter was adjourned to next month when it will be called again in the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court.
The seven inmates were part of a total of thirteen who tunneled their way out of the Lusignan pasture on Monday.
They were recaptured on Monday, hours after their escape. Long and McKenzie were recaptured in Georgetown at the Number 44 minibus park, while Roberts, Forde and Jones were nabbed at Block 8, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara. Howard and Joseph were caught in the North Ruimveldt area.
One of the remaining six, Kendell Skeete was recaptured yesterday at Linden leaving five others on the run.
