72-year-old mentally ill inmate to be housed at nursing home
Published:Saturday | October 3, 2015 | 8:37 AM
The Ministry of National Security says it has arranged for a mentally ill man who has been in prison for years to be temporarily accommodated in a private nursing home.
It says the arrangements for 72-year-old Vernal Walford were made ahead of his appearance in court yesterday.
The ministry says he is being housed at the nursing home with a view to having him moved to an infirmary by the end of the month.
Walford was incarcerated in 1997, but was diagnosed with a mental disorder, and held at the Governor General’s pleasure at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre.
In 2014 a committee was formed to oversee the return of cases involving people deemed unfit to plea to the court system in order to release them into the care of family members.
However, the national security ministry says the committee has outlined that Walford’s family is among many that have shown no interest in assuming the responsibility of caring for their incarcerated relatives.