Prisoners' visitation rights must be upheld, say attorneys

By Nakinskie Robinson   

 

Some members of the legal fraternity are maintaining that the constitutional rights of prisoners must be upheld by the state despite being incarcerated.

 

This is in response to recent outcry from relatives who were barred from bringing food items to their family members housed at Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in downtown Kingston.

 

Prison authorities have since told the media that the service was suspended due to a shortage of staff and inclement weather.

 

The families, who took issue with the decision, argued that there was no communication from staff about the postponed visitation.

 

Attorney Matthew Hyatt says with the already meagre portions and unfortunate conditions in which inmates are housed, their right to obtain food with nutritional value should not be neglected. 

 

"The government provides three meals per day. And in fact, most times the food is not palatable. The food that they serve is oftentimes very small in the amount. When it is that the prison, they open up at 10:30 and they get their breakfast and the prison is locked down at 3 [p.m.], the inmates do not have anything else to eat until the next morning. 

 

"So the meal that the relatives would bring into the prison is what they would oftentimes rely upon. For the lunch, for example, they may get maybe a little curry chicken and brown stew chicken. Now, of course, you can understand that many of the inmates avoid the curry. The facilities at the prison, they don't have any toilets. And so, of course, if it is that the curry is undercooked, and most times it is, then they are going to be in problem," argued the attorney, who was a guest Friday on the Morning Agenda, on Power 106FM.

 

Radio Jamaica News was informed that the visitation service at Tower Street will resume the third Wednesday in November.

 

Section 14(5) of the Constitution outlines that any person who is deprived of his liberty should be treated humanely and with respect for their dignity.

 

This, Mr. Hyatt said, challenges the position that home cooked meals are a privilege and not a right, especially since the state is not able to adequately meet the nutritional needs of prisoners.

 

Meanwhile, Executive Director of Jamaicans for Justice Mickel Jackson said the management at Tower Street Correctional Facility must adequately communicate if there are changes to existing policies.

 

Many of the relatives expressed frustration about travelling long distances without being informed that they would be barred from the facility.

 

Ms. Jackson said communication must be maintained with those on the outside. 

 

"If we are to take a step back and say, OK, the country has just, you know, withstood a natural disaster, and you can reasonably expect at least for a short time that there will be a shortage of staff, the question is, is there an obligation on the state to perhaps put out a statement to say that those who have family members who are incarcerated at this particular location, for the next two or so weeks, these will be the limitations? I think the state owes people that," she suggested. 

 

She was also guest on the Morning Agenda.