Jamaica
Seen in the press
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Jamaica: helping move mentally ill out of prison not an issue
“Resources and funding” have been identified by Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton as the hurdles that his ministry would need to clear in order to find suitable spaces so that mentally ill prisoners can be removed from correctional facilities. A recommendation for “some place other…Source — Jamaica Observer
Jamaica: the agony of serving time in prison while pregnant
In Jamaica, women incarcerated while pregnant face the painful reality of being separated from their newborn up to six months after giving birth — a reality which often leads to anxiety and depression for the rest of their stay in prison.Source — Jamaica Observer
Jamaica: judges still tossing children "behind bars" for uncontrollable behaviour, years after efforts started to end practice
Human rights advocacy group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) has raised concerns that the practice has re-emerged and provided The Sunday Gleaner with statistics which suggest that in 2018, some 413 children (211 males and 203 girls) appeared before court, not for committing an offence but for exhibitin…Source — The Cleaner
Jamaica: inmate takes action against state out of fear of going blind
Former district constable and garage operator, 67-year-old Linton Berry, is crying for help from prison as he fears losing his sight because of the lack of a proper diet and medication for his diabetes.Source — Jamaica Gleaner
Terror behind bars: damning report on treatment of homosexuals in Jamaica prisons
Jamaica has long been regarded as a homophobic country, and now a damning report on HIV/AIDS in the country’s prisons has unearthed some alarming problems. According to a new report, Barriers Behind Bars, inmates who have been identified as lesbian or gay are being unfairly treated. The report prep…Source — Caribbean 360
Jamaica: prisons to receive urgent upgrade following Tower Street blaze
Several of the island’s correctional facilities are in need of urgent infrastructural development, and the Tower Street Adult Correctional Facility in downtown Kingston is among those to receive priority focus, Senator Pearnel Charles Jr, minister of state in the Ministry of National Security, has…Source — The Jamaica Gleaner
Jamaica: correctional officers, recruits to be polygraphed in prison corruption clampdown
The National Security Ministry has announced that all correctional officers and recruits are to be polygraphed as part of new measures aimed at cutting the smuggling of cell phones and other contraband into correctional facilities.Source — The Gleaner
Jamaica: plea for the unfit - proposal to transfer the mentally ill from prisons
Persons held in Jamaica’s prisons who have been deemed ‘unfit to plead’ could be moved into a more fitting environment if the Government accepts the recommendations of the Mental Health and Homelessness Task Force, established by Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton.Source — The Cleaner
Jamaica: justice centers to be established
Justice Minister Delroy Chuck is moving to have justice centres established in each parish to provide training for justices of the peace (JPs) in the areas of restorative justice, mediation and child diversion.Source — Jamaica Observer