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ASP transferred to Berbice Jail

Mar 13, 2011 News

…after murder accused escapes from Camp Street prison

In the wake of the recent escape of an inmate from the Camp Street Penitentiary, an Assistant Superintendent attached to the said penal complex has been transferred.
A source within the prison walls said that the ASP was the officer- in-charge of the prison on the day the inmate, who is a murder accused, made a dash for freedom.
The source also noted that according to the prison legislation, no prisoner on remand should be tasked with duties outside the prison walls.
Kaieteur News understands that on the day of the escape, the escapee was transporting sand in a wheel-barrow from out side to inside of the prison compound.
During an interview with a senior officer at the said jail, he related that just weeks before the breakout the said ASP had given a junior officer a flask containing what was suspected to be marijuana for her to deliver to a prisoner.
The junior rank reported the occurrence to a senior officer but as usual, no action was taken.
This incident was not well received by numerous prison wardens.
One of those officers told this newspaper that only certain wardens are penalised for any alleged “wrong doings”. “We reported the illegal activities that same ASP was doing to the relevant authority at the prison and nothing was done, let it was one of us who are not so favourable, we would have either been dismiss or interdicted.”
Further, the wardens said that prison authorities supposedly found that the blaze which occurred on Thursday near the dormitory where high profile inmates are held was set by Bartica massacre suspect, Dennis Williams aka Anaconda.
On Thursday a major catastrophe was averted when fire threatened the facility that houses close to  1000 inmates.
Praises were heaped on the Guyana Fire Service which responded promptly and contained the blaze.
It is suspected that Williams used a lighter to start the blaze.
The source said that fire officials found that the inferno started in Anaconda’s cell.
He along with four of his associates was recently sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for breaking out from the capital division with the intention of setting themselves free. The other offences he along with associates are charged with such as murder, is still engaging the attention of the Bartica Magistrate’s Court.
The partly damaged ‘strong cell’ which is popularly called ‘dungeon’ has since been repair.
According to an officer, he is curious to know who aided the said prisoner with the lighter and what was he using it for prior to the blaze.
The officer speculates that apparently, Anaconda was given the lighter by some prison personnel to light cigarettes or marijuana, a gesture that is illegal within the prison walls.
The source argued that his suggestion is logic because it is not possible to say the prisoner purchase the lighter from a shop.
He went on to explain that when illegal items are found in cells or on prisoners, there are always a lot of assumption on how those items ended up in the hands of inmates. But what is not shocking is that those same officers are the transporters of those illegal items. Base on the concern of prisoners being in possession of cellular phones, the source went on to explain that, officers are even charging those devices for prisoners who are their friends.
“Persons on the road would not know but everything in prison is money, once a prisoner has money certain privileges are given to him.”
During the interview the prison officer, the allegation of the misappropriation of $200,000 by an officer who was attached to the head office of the Guyana Prison Service came up.
He said that at the end of the investigation of that incident the Minister of Home Affairs ordered that the said officer be sent home but instead she was transferred to the Camp Street penitentiary.
The officer also spoke about the two wardens who are interdicted for the recent escape of an inmate. According to the source, none of the two officers were served with interdiction letters up to this date.  (Tiffany Bowen)

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