Alexander: Port of Spain prison being closed but gallows being rebuilt at MSP

THE Ministry of Homeland Security will be installing a new gallows for hanging at the Golden Grove Maximum Security Prison in Arouca as part of an initiative to decommission the Port of Spain Prison and move its prisoners and prisoners on Carrera Island to the maximum security prison.

Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander made the announcement at the post-cabinet media conference held at the Diplomatic Centre in Port of Spain on September 4.

He said the installation of the new gallows would be one of four stages in the decommissioning of the prison – the other three stages involved moving prisoners.

“If men can move, so can equipment,” he said. “So we will move the gallows to the next location, size it up properly, have it measured in the manner in which it is supposed to, so if it comes down to that the gallows could be used.

Newsday suggested the announcement signalled a restart to hangings, but when asked, Alexander evaded questions on when hanging would resume. However, he issued a warning to criminals to stop killing, lest they end up on the gallows pole.

“Hanging was never removed from the laws of this land. So I suggest that citizens try to do the right thing and stop murdering people, because there are times where you may have no choice to do what the law says with respect to your behaviour.”

Alexander said the Port of Spain Prison had been an eyesore and a financial burden on the state given that the conditions in the prison were inhumane.

“The Port of Spain prison was built in 1757… long before light bulbs were invented (1879).

"Today after 268 years, the UNC government, led by the honourable Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, has taken the decision to decommission the prison.

“This facility has been reportedly condemned by courts as being unfit for housing prisoners and has cost the state millions in damages for breaches of constitutional rights.

“Rather than continuing to pay compensation to prisoners for breach of their constitutional rights by housing them in facilities that are sub-human and degrading, the government will save money and invest instead in a state-of-the-art prison facility modernised to assist in rehabilitation and restorative justice.”

He said the decision was taken after consultation with the business community in Port of Spain, who lauded the ministry and the Prime Minister for the idea.

When asked, Alexander added that government also took a legal opinion before making the decision.

“We always take a legal opinion before we make any decisions. We don’t expect any push back. What people are saying is thank God that someone had the cojonas (sic) to move the prison out of Port of Spain.

“All the chambers that we spoke to were in full support of us moving that facility out of Port of Spain. They are saying that it should have been done long ago.

“There are a number of people complaining about the jammers coming on and off. People were concerned if there was an escape, how it would impact them. And then the tendency of that area, you would often see people trying to throw things over the wall. We don’t want that in our city any more.”

In an earlier post-cabinet media briefing in May, Persad-Bissessar said hanging as a death penalty could not be legally enforced until their appeals were heard in court.

She said, based on a report by Attorney General John Jeremie, the number of inmates on death row was 38, but only 18 were eligible for hanging; the other 20 had gone over the timeline for hanging.

Of the 18 condemned inmates, one had an appeal before the Privy Council and the rest had cases pending before the local appellate court.