“Any society, any family that cannot share or take seriously the pain of its children, and views that pain as something normal or expected, is a society condemned to remain hostage to itself, prey to the very things which cause that pain.” (Pope Francis)
Pope Francis uttered the words above in his speech to inmates at Curran-Fromhold correctional facility, Philadelphia, USA in September 2015. As Alan Yuhas reported in the UK Guardian, he urged inmates, their families and the correctional officers there “to believe in the possibility of rehabilitation, condemning societies that normalise their suffering”.
He said: “Christ comes to save us from the lie that says no one can change…It is painful when we see prison systems which are not concerned to care for wounds, to soothe pain, to offer new possibilities. It is painful when we see people who think that only others need to be cleansed, purified, and do not recognise that their weariness, pain and wounds are also the weariness, pain and wounds of society.”
His words apply to us in T&T. While we support victims of crime, I urge you to sign the petition which was initiated by Archbishop Harris calling for “prisoners who are serving prison sentences and who are found to be worthy of pardon and mercy to be granted their liberty” (Sign petition here).
Recently the US Department of State published its Country Reports on Human Rights for 2015. The most serious human rights problems in T&T included “poor prison conditions and a slow judicial system…Conditions in some of the prison system’s nine facilities continued to be harsh.”
The deficiencies of our criminal justice system have been well documented. See the seven reports on prison conditions between 1945 and 1980 with nearly 1,000 recommendations.
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“It is time to bring all the interests around the table to hammer out an integrated action plan backed by the resources to make a difference. Given the integral role that the justice system plays in the safety and security of all its citizens, it is critical that meaningful investment be made in addressing its problems of staff and equipment shortages and eliminating the blockages that stymie the system.”
There are many practical solutions to the problems we face. Action to release those who are worthy of mercy to be shown them, must be seen within a wider strategy to embrace a restorative justice approach to the criminal justice system, and to re-engineer the system.
This can only take place if we address the apparent disconnect between the three branches of government: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Separation of powers should not prevent us from finding solutions that will enhance our democracy.
We should also consider: introducing a Lay Magistrate system and/or appoint retired Principals, Clerks of Courts and Lawyers in districts to run evening courts from 4 – 8 p.m., using the same infrastructure used for courts during the day. Many of our people retire at 60 and still have much to offer communities. I understand that each magistrate has about 150 cases before him/her daily. An inordinate amount of their time is spent adjourning cases;
proclaiming and implementing legislation that has been passed to allow for the extension of retirement of judges from 65 to 70 years old so that the expertise of these judges can be used to help clear the backlog of cases;
encouraging our Director of Public Prosecutions, Roger Gaspard, to issue a nolle prosequi (after careful consideration of each case) for some/all of the 268 persons who are on remand awaiting trial for minor offences – particularly those who have been behind bars for terms that are longer than the terms they would have received if they had been found guilty and sentenced by a Court of Law;
developing structured prisoner education and rehabilitation programmes and aftercare, particularly for those for whom mercy will be shown.
“Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope.” (Pope Francis, MV10).
