Latest update April 4th, 2025 4:16 PM
Camp Street prison is like a warzone – COI Chairman
Justice James Patterson, Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into last week’s riot at the Camp Street prison that left 17 inmates dead, has described the facility as a warzone.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Justice Patterson said that the commission which also includes former Director of Prison and Human Rights Activist Merle Mendonca visited the location on Tuesday to get a firsthand look at things there in the aftermath of the Region’s worst prison unrest.
“I saw two contending factions; one may be described by some as the wretched of the earth and another as their oppressors. It was sad,” the Chairman related.
He said that the Commission met with Prison Officers who he believes had not slept in days. Not wanting to form any early judgement until all the evidence has been gathered, he did not disclose any other observation that was made during the visit to the prison by the Commission.
Justice Patterson said that the Commission will be visiting the prison again during the course of their inquiry as they seek to maximize the amount of evidence they can gather.
“I don’t know what it was like before…it had to be about 25 to 30 years since I last went in there…not as an inmate,” he joked.
In terms of the disparity between custodial ranks and prisoners at the Camp Street Prison the ratio is staggering, he said.
Commissioner Dale Erskine gave the figure as 10 to the 945, which surprised many, including the Chairman of the Commission.
Recently, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjatan told reporters that the administration is doing all that it can to address the issue of overcrowding.
The Minister said that at the moment authorities are moving to utilize the Brick Prison section where a brand new wing was added to accommodate 160 inmates.
This, he said, would be done within the next two weeks.
He acknowledged that overcrowding is a major problem and presently the government is not in a position to afford a new prison.
Ramjattan said it will cost in excess of $150M to effect rehabilitation to the brick prison in order to facilitate the transfer of prisoners.
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