Rayon Paddy was accused of killing my friend but I never sought blood

Mar 09, 2016 Letters

---

Dear Editor,
Let us address the several factors which have influenced the disaster which resulted in the death of seventeen inmates and injury to others at the Camp Street Prison. I have read many social media posts attributing the gruesome demise of these victims to an act of God in retribution for the ills these gentlemen have committed. I cannot endorse this sentiment as there is nothing upon which I can conclude that their demise was an act of God. Folks expect me to readily lend my voice to this chorus given that Rayon Paddy has met his end in this subhuman manner. Most of you would recall that I have written extensively with tattooed emotions about the brutal murder of my dear friend Trevor Abrams; as a matter of fact, I wrote and posted a poem to commemorate him on the anniversary of his passing, February 27. Paddy was one of the persons accused of Trevor’s spineless slaying.
I have prayed and advocated for justice for Trevor. But I trusted the judicial system, albeit deficient in many material respects, to deliver this justice; the same way I’m counting on the system to deliver justice for Crum-Ewing. It is absolutely outrageous to suggest that the motive of the unrest is the confiscation of cellular phones, drugs and weapons from the inmates. Prison checks are routinely carried out and invariably contraband items are uncovered. I would imagine that the practice of the prisoners after the seizure of these items would be to have recourse to the same channels which afforded them these items to begin with. The focus in this regard should be to nab and make examples of those who act as couriers of these items. I take it for granted that the marijuana and cellular phones don’t just walk into the prison on their own. And obviously the phones would need to be charged. Who is facilitating this?
It is commonplace for persons to be kept on remand for years. There are instances in which persons are on remand for upwards of 10 years. The main reasons why persons are remanded in custody are due to their inability to post bail or legal restrictions precluding them from being granted bail. Now think about it, someone is legally innocent but is confined behind bars for years with all of his usual liberties denied him. The things we take for granted become luxuries which are beyond the reach of inmates; going for a walk around the corner, getting up during the night to get a snack or make a cup of tea, kissing their children before they leave for school, going to bed cuddled with a wife or girlfriend,  etc, etc, etc. Add to the mix sharing a poorly ventilated cell with about 7 other persons (this is a modest number in some instances), a toilet parked in a corner for communal use, and terribler odour due to lack of facilities for proper hygiene, food barely fit for animal consumption. Then there are advantage-taking prison officers and the risk of gang violence. If convicted prisoners can be frustrated by these circumstances, how more frustrated would legally innocent men under these circumstances, in a grossly overcrowded prison, get? We cannot justify treating convicted or remanded prisoners this way. Of course we do not expect that prison should translate into an extended holiday.
The criminal justice system is a clogged and oftentimes an inefficient system. Magistrates have bulging lists of matters to treat with on a daily basis. Every so often I applaud the herculean effort it takes to surmount this task. Police prosecutors and state prosecutors are often embarrassed by their inability to advance cases due to incomplete or incompetent police investigations; due to the absence of police complainants which are justified by flimsy excuses; due to the hesitation of witnesses; due to delayed forensic analysis reports, etc.
Also there are some magistrates who are too entertaining of adjournments requested by either the prosecution or defence counsel.  Insufficient resources are plugged into ensuring the efficiency of police officers and the investigative process…and might I add, insufficient remuneration. I hold out the example of the Senior Magistrate at the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court. Once a matter is set for trial, and trials are set within fair time, it goes to trial irrespective of the readiness of the defence or prosecution. Both sides are given ample warning that the matter will proceed. To those who are suggesting that we build more and bigger jails, I unreservedly condemn this characteristic symptomatic treatment of our sociopolitical ills. Let us treat with the root causes of having to populate our jail in the first instance and the inefficiencies of our criminal justice system before we propose fancy architectural plans for housing prisoners.
The harsh reality is that unless we treat with the fundamental issues we will always have reasons to roll out engineering blueprints for prison expansion. We spend a disproportionate amount of money housing certain prisoners in view of the crimes they have committed or allegedly committed. Why not build recreational parks in our communities;  more learning centres for vocational and school dropout programmes; properly staffed and resourced centres for helping victims of domestic violence, abused and troubled children; communal farms; provide decently paid jobs for our citizens; rebuild our communities and invest in our human capital?  Why not have an effective plea bargaining system whereby persons can acknowledge their guilt in exchange from prompt and reduced prison sentences? Why not spearhead a system of restorative justice which is helpful to both victims and perpetrators of crimes? Finally, why act as if these things are unattainable and they would not help?
Ronald J. Daniels

---

---