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PPP Parliamentarian is a victim of group think

Mar 08, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
After reading a letter penned by Mr Charles Ramson Jr. regarding his reasons for the deaths of the 17 prisoners last week, I wish to state that the learned Member of Parliament is somewhat oblivious to the facts that surround this entire unfortunate occurrence.  First, to even imply that overcrowding of the prison cells in the ‘Capital” section was not a major contributing factor to the incident, but rather, as he puts it, the perceived “softness” to the punishment of criminals by President Granger, because of the  pardoning of prisoners, could be deemed as misguided at best.
First, Mr Ramson Jr., a lawyer by profession, ought to know that there are two things that are legally owed to any prisoner, natural justice (nemo iudex in causa sua), and the right to a fair and timely hearing (audi alteram partem). If found guilty, the subsequent punishment meted out to the offender must fit the crime. From my research, the “Presidential Pardons” are not executed randomly, or whimsically-there are strict conditions that govern eligibility for the program. For a prisoner to be eligible for early release, they must, among other conditions, be the perpetrators of no-violent crimes/misdemeanours, have a short time left on their sentences and be willing to enroll in a program post-release, which provides mentorship and skills training so as to make reintegration into the society, a less challenging undertaking. It behooves me therefore, that the learned MP can imply that there is some correlation between the conditional pardoning of young offenders, and the frustrations displayed by the prisoners who proceeded to cause the conflagration at the Georgetown Prison.
What the outstanding legal mind should have known is that the actual pardoning of minor offenders is a genuine attempt to reduce the problem of overcrowding of the prison. Mr Ramson’s postulations seem to have been derived from a mind cemented in partisan party positions and as such, he was unable to extricate his thoughts from the hardened philosophy that prevents some of our politicians from embracing any idea that emanates from outside their narrow philosophical myopia.
The “psychological break in the minds of the prisoners” that Mr. Ramson speaks of, does not have its genesis in the policies of the last 9 months, but in a systematic and methodical approach to treat inmates as lesser mortals seeking 5-star accommodation, when, according to the ideology of Mr. Ramson’s colleagues, they deserved to feed from the trough of swines, while resting their heads on pillows of excrement.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, to everything there is a season, a time to every purpose under the heavens- As Guyanese, we must understand that, to project a mature political disposition, there are times when nationalistic interests must trump political partisanship- The death of 17 inmates and the need to improve the conditions for both the prisoners and the hardworking staff that manage our penal system, must be seen as issues that require national and bipartisan solutions.
Jeumayne Dummett

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