“One of the major challenges facing our societies today is
to develop prison and penitentiary systems that offer suitable
conditions for rehabilitation and re-integration into society
for those who have been sentenced to imprisonment by the
courts”
(Final report of the 4th Meeting of Ministers of Justice or
Attorneys General of the Americas, March 2002, held in
T&T).
When I read reports such as the one from which this
quotation is taken, I wonder whether such meetings result in
any meaningful action to implement any recommendations made.
Following the aforementioned meeting, I attended a
colloquium organised by the Ministry of the AG and the
Ministry of National Security and Rehabilitation on December
16, 2003, entitled “Restorative Justice: Possibilities for
T&T.” Prof Thomas Russell, University of Denver College of
Law, US, delivered the feature address.
He had visited our prison in Port-of-Spain and found his
visit to be “profoundly disturbing.” He described the prison
as being “…not the inner circle of hell, but one of the
circles of hell.” He paid tribute to prison officers who were
striving to manage a system with few resources and deplorable
conditions.
What moral vision does T&T bring to the marketplace in
relation to its treatment of those who have been charged and
await trial, as well as those who have been convicted and
sentenced to incarceration?
In the midst of the high rate of crime, there may be some
who would say we should be focusing on the victims of crime
and on strategies to detect crime and bring offenders to book
for crimes they have committed.
However, I believe unless we address the question above,
all strategies to combat crime will fail.
Archbishop Edward Gilbert has been holding a series of
meetings with various key stakeholders in T&T. At one of
these meetings, I shared my perception that some of those who
commit heinous crimes in T&T seem to have no conscience.
Someone at the meeting put another spin on this view. He
told of a recent confrontation he had had with a worker who
looked him in the eye and said: “You people have no
conscience.” When he had finished relating this man’s story,
tears came to my eyes.
We must face the truth that over the years, in spite of all
the wealth our nation has at its disposal, we have not
developed and implemented policies and programmes that will
enable many of our people to live their lives in dignity.
Indeed, if we had any conscience we would realise that we
are creating more problems for the wider community by
corralling 14 or more prisoners in 10 x 10 cells in our
Port-of-Spain prison in utterly deplorable conditions for 23
hours a day. This prison was designed in the 17th century to
hold 250 prisoners. It now holds more than 800. Two years ago,
it held 1,400 prisoners.
Whether ministers visit the prison or not, the evidence is
there. Amnesty International has refered to this injustice for
years. The prison officers themselves have been raising their
voices for better conditions. The recent media coverage of the
reports by lawyers Larry Lalla, Om Lalla and Natasha
Lamy-Ramsden about the state of the Port-of-Spain prison once
more drew the public’s attention to the violation of the
rights of those in that prison. As Larry said:
“What we saw was an outrage, a scandal and a serious
indictment against our society, modern T&T. It is a
serious indictment against every government, past and present,
who allowed this to happen.” (Call the Law Association or the
Criminal Bar Association for more information.)
There are many on remand — untried prisoners — at that
prison. They are presumed to be innocent until they are found
guilty and yet the conditions in which they are kept are far
worse than those in which those found guilty are housed.
Conditions are so deficient as to constitute cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment, violating Article 7 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Specific failings could also be enumerated under the more
detailed provisions of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners. A widely known set of prison
standards, the Standard Minimum Rules describe “the minimum
conditions which are accepted as suitable” by the UN.
Article 10 of the ICCPR mandates that “all persons deprived
of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with
respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.” It also
requires that “the reform and social readaptation of
prisoners” be an “essential aim” of imprisonment.
Amnesty International’s (AI) 2002 report states that AI
“has long-term concerns about prison conditions in Trinidad
and Tobago, including overcrowding, brutality by guards, lack
of adequate medical care and insufficient sleeping, bathing
and sanitation facilities. Prison conditions are of such an
appalling standard as to constitute cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment.
“Amnesty International is further concerned that such
appalling prison conditions exacerbate the pressures on prison
officers and provide fertile ground for discontent and
frustration for those working in prison, contributing to an
atmosphere in which prisoners’ human rights are violated.”
Justice demands that as a nation we ensure the human
dignity of those whom we place in custody. The current state
of affairs dehumanises those in prison and diminishes all of
us because we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.
But are we concerned about those in our prisons — many of
whom are poor, black, unemployed males, with little or no
education, etc? The socially excluded are treated like pariahs
in our country.
A recent report by Caribbean Money Market Brokers
highlights the fact that T&T is poised towards a period of
sustained economic growth driven by our oil and gas sector.
“Government revenues are expected to increase by over TT$6
billion annually in the next three-four years, according to
some sources, with the find on the East Coast by BHP Billiton,
the increased demand for gas and the expansion of the ammonia
and methanol industries. The output of oil and gas is
projected to double between 2003 and 2006.”
Who is benefiting from our wealth? The role of any
government is to ensure that the economy works for everyone.
I want to thank Fr Matthew D’Hereaux, chair of my
commission’s Standing Committee on Restorative Justice and
Post-Prison Support, who has secured sponsorship and the free
services of an architect, to paint certain cells and the
officers’ dormitory at the PoS prison. My commission has the
full support of the prison authorities to do this work. But
this is not enough.
Any psychologist will agree that the psyche of our prison
officers will be adversely affected by poor working
conditions. They will be more willing to engage in the
rehabilitation of prisoners if their working conditions are
improved.
Government must take action now rather than wait until
legal action is taken on behalf of prisoners.
Leela Ramdeen is Chair of the Catholic Commission for
Social Justice
