By Barbara Gayle,
Staff ReporterTHE POLICE are experiencing long delays in getting prisoners for trial from the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, East Kingston, and this is hampering the work of the Home Circuit Court and wasting judicial time.
Mr. Justice Maurice Reckord disclosed this in court last week when at 10.35 Tuesday prisoners on remand at the penitentiary were still not in court, having just been transported from the penitentiary.
The judge said that the day before he had a similar experience waiting for the same prisoners.
An inspector of police told Mr. Justice Reckord that when the police went for the prisoners at the penitentiary, it took a long time for them to leave their cells. He added: "It doesn't matter what time we go there we have to wait."
He explained that the warders were acting "because of what happened with the Colombians the other day". The incident he referred to occurred on October 24 when a policeman and a prison warder on interdiction allegedly conspired to free two Colombians who were due to be deported later that day from custody at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre (General Penitentiary).
"Jurors, accused persons, lawyers, judges and everybody have to sit down waiting while the people at the General Penitentiary take their own sweet time in releasing the prisoners...," said Mr. Justice Reckord.
"It is really a deplorable state ... This sort of thing should be made public and I hope the newspapers pick it up."
Although defence counsel Tom Tavares-Finson argued that going public would not make a difference, the judge disagreed.
"At least the public will know. Obviously things are not working well and if this is what is going to happen every morning, perhaps we should not tell the jurors to come at 10:00 o'clock," said Mr. Justice Reckord. "I am sure they could find something useful to do either at their home or where they work. It is useless coming here and wait and we don't know when they will be released."
"Correctional Services take their own time, sir," said the inspector. "They say they have to do their jobs and they have to check properly."
They seem to be a law unto themselves, noted the judge who added that there seemed to be a lack of proper leadership there. "They made a fool of themselves the other day in relation to the Colombians and now they are reacting to it."
The judge then apologised to the foreman and members of the jury on behalf of the judiciary for the delay in starting the trial.
"We can only hope that it doesn't continue but I don't know if we have any reason to expect anything better because it seems it was happening from last week.
Mr. Justice Reckord then suggested that the police not send back that particular prisoner to the General Penitentiary that evening, advising, "keep them as near as possible or somewhere where you can get them easily".
