Georgetown : The work of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the recent Georgetown Prison riot will be conducted in a fair manner, according to Chairman, Judge rt. James Patterson. The Judge and the other members of the COI, former Director of Prisons Dale Erskine and Human Rights Activist Merle Mendonca briefed the media today on how the COI’s mandate will be executed.
The Chairman stated, “We have to find out what happened and how it did happen. To that end, we will take the testimonies of the prisoners, the officers involved…” The COI will be also be looking at what “ought not to have happened and ought to have happened,” he added.
The Standard Operating Procedures will be examined and the aids used by prison officers and police ranks will also be assessed.
Despite having the powers of a high court judge, Chairman Patterson said that certain aspects of the Evidence Act would be relaxed, “but not to be overdone, once we don’t traduce the laws of natural justice”. He observed that whilst the public perception would have given the incident the appearance of an adversarial relationship in the prisons, an “us versus them” attitude, he added, “There are some people who think that once you access the prisons you are deemed to be without redemption. This concept would transgress certain theological principles of many.”
The Chairman made it clear that he, like others do not believe that those incarcerated are beyond redemption, “as long as they happen to maintain their sanity whilst they are there, something can always be done. This enquiry will see about that.”
Reasons for the “interminable court delays” will also be examined and recommendations made to alleviate those, the Chairman stated. “The evidence will be collected, “marshalled and unleashed to the media”. This evidence will be taken with the requisite proof by staffers attached to the COI before being aired.
Choices will be made by the COI members since, “Everyone cannot be accommodated, who wants to say something,” he further added. Perjury rules will apply, video evidence will be taken and testimonies given in camera if necessary, the Chairman made clear.
The COI conducted an initial visit to the Georgetown Prison, on Camp Street, on March 8, to assess the conditions which were likened to that of a ‘War Zone’, which is now getting back to a state of normalcy, Chairman Patterson said.
More visits to the institution will be undertaken as necessary, he said, as part of the effort to gather testimonies and evidence. It will be open to the public, but spurious allegations will not be accepted, he reiterated.
The COI is also charged with having grief councillors meet with prisoners, family members and officers who were affected by the prison riot which resulted in 17 inmates dying and several others injured, during the March 3 incident.
The chairman reiterated that they were only mandated to come up and a list of recommendations after examining all of the evidence and not to advise the government. The Prison COI formally begins on March 10, between the hours of 10am to 2 pm and is expected to be completed by March 28, 2016.
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