Prison reform activists: Speed up system, fix 'horrific' conditions

Prison reform activist Wayne Kublalsingh said his group, the Prison Reform Movement, is not lobbying for the release of prisoners, but rather, calling for the humane treatment of prisoners.

Dr Kublalsingh clarified his group's stance on Friday while speaking with reporters after delivering documents to the Office of the President on the Queen's Park Savannah.

Calling for urgent reforms to the criminal-justice system, he said prisoners at remand facilities were entitled to their day in court and implored the President to use her constitutional powers to work with other officials to expedite cases.

Citing the poor quality of life behind bars and lengthy delays for trials, Kublalsingh said a more efficient justice system could improve the state of security in Trinidad and Tobago.

"We are not here to free prisoners," he explained. "No prisoner has approached us and said they want to be freed. What they are saying is they want their cases expedited.

"They want their day in court, they want to be heard in court and that's what is happening because the whole system is backlogged. and we need to fix the whole criminal justice system if we want to fix crime, And we cannot fix crime until we fix the constitutionally appointed authorities."

Kublalsingh said while he was grateful for a recent meeting with Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, he was not optimistic that other officials would meet with him to hear his concerns, given past experiences with politicians.

He then urged the authorities not to ignore the need for reform, and called on the private sector and citizens to hold elected officials to their promises to improve the criminal-justice system.

"Ultimately the people, the businessmen, the chambers of commerce, the ordinary people have to fix the system because for some reason the political officers for some reason don't function as well as they ought to probably because they are too busy."

Newsday also spoke to activist Nazma Muller, who said government should focus on improving conditions behind bars with a more humane approach to inmates.

Describing the quality of life in prison as "horrific," Muller said the poor conditions are worsened by a large influx of Venezuelan migrants who might also be arrested for entering TT illegally.

"As we head into Christmas and the New Year, 4,000 prisoners are looking to her (the President), especially the women, to intervene and bring the powers she has to bear on a very horrific situation which is exacerbated by the migrant situation, because a lot of Venezuelans are being detained as well.

"The situations in the prison is not getting any better.

"We are asking for the matter to be dealt with as expeditiously as possible."