Prisons Commissioner: We cannot force inmates to plead guilty

PRISON Commissioner Gerard Wilson has dismissed as "nonsense" claims that inmates are being forced by prison guards to plead guilty to offences as part of an initiative by the Judiciary.

In an interview yesterday, Wilson said it was impossible for prison guards to force inmates to plead guilty.

Wilson was responding to claims in a letter sent to him by the attorneys for a female inmate who accused prison guards of putting pressure on her and other inmates to immediately plead guilty as part of the Judiciary's initiative on the maximum sentence indication (MSI) procedure. An MSI is a hearing at which a judge gives an accused person an indication of the maximum sentence they would face if they were to plead guilty.

The letter claimed prisoners were told if they pleaded guilty, the judge would take one-third off their sentence and take into account time already spent in custody. It was emphasised to prisoners that the MSI was a “way to come out of prison.”

The lawyer said inmates were made to sign a form which stated: "Take notice that I intend to plead guilty in the above matter and hereby request the matter be dealt with prior to the regular criminal session.”

As part of this initiative, scores of prisoners committed to stand trial, were brought to special sittings at the Port of Spain High Court to determine the status of their matters.

The hearings were presided over by Justice Gillian Lucky who advised the inmates they were under no pressure to participate in the hearing. She also advised those on murder charges that letters would have to be written to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to determine whether a plea to felony murder will be accepted.

Wilson advised inmates, who felt they were forced to participate in the intiative, to provide the names of the officers who forced them and he will happily investigate the matter.