Left to right: B Arnold Kennedy, Mark Rafino, and Alex Mathias.
October 21 ,2020
Three prisoners escaped today from the Lusignan jail.
The police have identified them as Mark Rafino, Alex Mathias and B Arnold Kennedy. All three are facing the charge of murder.
The Lusignan Prison has seen a series of escapes, uprisings and violence among inmates in recent months.
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@Django posted:
Left to right: B Arnold Kennedy, Mark Rafino, and Alex Mathias.
October 21 ,2020
Three prisoners escaped today from the Lusignan jail.
The police have identified them as Mark Rafino, Alex Mathias and B Arnold Kennedy. All three are facing the charge of murder.
The Lusignan Prison has seen a series of escapes, uprisings and violence among inmates in recent months.
What are you trying to insinuate?
@Ramakant-P posted:What are you trying to insinuate?
Are there any ?
Rama seems to be losing he mind.
Heads should be rolling. The Prison Director should be fired. This has been happening too often.
The Lusignan Prison should be closed down without delay, according to the United Nationsâ Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, which says the facility is ânot fit for human habitation.â
In a preliminary report last Friday, presented upon the conclusion of a five-day visit to Guyana, the Group issued a raft of recommendations addressing the state of the countryâs penal system, stating that steps should be taken to improve the infrastructure and hygienic conditions within prisons, bringing them within international standards.
âAll prisons must be operated in accordance with international human rights obligations, including the Mandela Rules,â it said, while adding that overcrowding within prisons and detention centres must be approached with urgency.
The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Mandela Rules, consists of 122 rules listed under various categories.
Under âAccommodation,â Rule 12 states that if sleeping accommodations are in individual cells or rooms, each prisoner should occupy their own cell/room. It further stated that if overcrowding should arise, and an exception to the rule has to be made, it is ânot desirableâ to have two prisoners within the same space.
In the case of dormitories, the rules state that the inhabitants should be carefully selected to ensure they are suitable to associate with each other in those conditions, and should receive regular supervision at night.
The rules of accommodation also cater for adequate shower and sanitary hygiene arrangements, as well as natural lighting and ventilation within the prisons. Adequate lighting was deemed to be important to allow prisoners to read by the light, and if this was not possible, the rules state that âartificial light shall be provided sufficient for the prisoners to read or work without injury to eyesight.â
Rule 21, written under the category of âClothing and bedding,â states that âEvery prisoner shall, in accordance with local or national standards, be provided with a separate bed and with separate and sufficient bedding which shall be clean when issued, kept in good order and changed often enough to ensure its cleanliness.â
âPrisons which are not fit for human habitation, such as Lusignan Prison, must be closed down without any delay and be replaced with facilities that meet international standards,â the preliminary report advised. The same advice was extended for the countryâs juvenile detention centres.
In July, around 1,000 prisoners were taken to Lusignan for accommodation after a fire gutted the Camp Street jail.
At the Lusignan Prison, the transferred prisoners were housed in an open air holding section. With the conditions proving to be less than ideal, within weeks half of the prisoners were eventually relocated to other facilities across the country, and the remainder were spread between Lusignanâs main facility, and three holding areas constructed to accommodate them. They were intended to house approximately 450 prisoners.
Thirteen inmates had escaped from the holding facility at Lusignan on July 24, during a heavy downpour, after digging a tunnel that took them under the fence and into the backlands. Twelve of them were recaptured while one was killed.
On Friday, Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels told reporters that following the escape, a review of the system was done.
ââĶAs a result of that, the necessary security measures were put in place. I can safely say that [although] the investigation is still somewhat ongoing, from all that has been presented so far, it is pointing to neglect of duty which resulted in the escape of the prisonersâĶ the various layers of security was put in place but persons did not execute as was expected,â Samuels stated.
He said that the findings of the investigation will determine the level of disciplinary action that will be meted out.
The PPP can't even run a jail. Of course, the whole lot of them belong in a jail but that is another story. Bruck up Benn only marching around the market like he is some kind of bad man. He is only good at flooding people's houses and shooting women and children.
The PPP can't run a jail? Who was in power when there was a big fire there and a number of prisoners died in a prison riot?
The recaptured duo: Alex Mathias (right) and Mark Rufino (Police photo)
October 22 ,2020
Two of the three murder accused who fled the Lusignan Prison were recaptured last night at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo while the hunt continues for a third.
Police sources say that Alex Mathias of Good Hope Dock Yard, Essequibo and Mark Rufino of Goed Intent Village, West Bank Demerara (WBD) had entered a vehicle last night and were apparently recognised. The police later intercepted the vehicle and apprehended them. Arnold Bruce Kennedy of Lot 847 Zeeburg Housing Scheme, West Coast Demerara (WCD) remains on the loose.
Police spokesman, Assistant Commissioner Royston Andries-Junor yesterday confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the incident which occurred between 5.30 pm Tuesday and 6am yesterday.
According to the police, investigations revealed that the prisoners escaped by scaling the south eastern fence of the facility.
The police in a statement said that around 5 pm Tuesday, the prisoners were locked in.
Hours after, Joint Services ranks on the ground received information that the prisoners had escaped.
âAn alarm was raised and the ranks immediately conducted checks around the prisons and its nearby environs but did not locate anyone,â the police said.
A head count was conducted around 6am yesterday during which it was discovered that the three prisoners were missing.
In recent months, there has been an increasing number of incidents at the Lusignan Prison during which inmates have either escaped or attempted to do so.
Just over one month ago, two inmates, Earl Graham, 51, and Winston Herbert, 21 were fatally shot by guards and five others were wounded after what authorities have described as a riot and attempted breakout at the Lusignan Prison.
The shooting had capped off hours of protests by inmates over a number of issues, including overcrowding at the facility and the risk of exposure to COVID-19, which were raised earlier in the day when the Home Affairs and Health ministers visited.
Overcrowding at the facility has been a longstanding concern.
Just last Friday, remanded prisoner Aszim Shivgobin was attacked and injured at the Lusignan penitentiary as prisoners attempted to kill two fellow inmates.
Shivgobin, who is one of the three suspects accused in the murder of Canadian citizen Nicholas Ramkissoon Jaipaul has since been discharged from hospital.
Pomona
Mathias is accused of fatally stabbing 23-year-old Kevin Bettencourt at Pomona, Essequibo Coast on December 31st, 2018.
The police had said that investigations revealed that Bettencourt went to the residence where Mathias was allegedly visiting a relative, asking for someone.
Mathias, who was reportedly intoxicated, requested that Bettencourt leave the premises. As a result, the duo ended up in a confrontation during which Mathias reportedly armed himself with a knife and stabbed Bettencourt. After the incident, Mathias fled the scene but was arrested shortly after by police.
Kennedy was among three suspects who were charged with the chopping to death of Alvin Gajraj called `Chockolooâ on July 18, 2019 at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).
Gajrajâs 17-year-old brother, Devendra âSameerâ Seenarine, was also brutally assaulted in the attack.
Gajraj and Seenarineâs sister, Meera, had told Stabroek News that her two brothers were imbibing at her residence until sometime around 10 pm when Seenarine decided he wanted to go home.
Gajraj left with him and while the two men were on a bicycle exiting the village, three men, who Meera said worked with the brothers on a fishing boat, attacked them. She said that the men were armed with a crowbar, a large piece of wood and a cutlass.
Right before they were attacked, Seenarine attempted to run away but ended up slipping and falling into a drain, where he was attacked by one of the men, who even tried to drown him.
While Seenarine was being attacked, Gajraj managed to run towards the sea wall but was followed by two of the men. He was then beaten and chopped to death.
Moneychanger
Meanwhile, Rufino and four others were remanded to prison for allegedly murdering Better Hope moneychanger Aaron Latchman and his daughter, Arian Latchman, in the course or furtherance of a robbery.
The Latchmans were killed by armed bandits at their 58 Robert Street, Better Hope North home on July 4th, 2019.
According to the police, Aaron was confronted by the bandits as he exited his car and after he allegedly put up a fight, he was shot. Arian was shot and killed in the upper flat of the home. The armed bandits then took a bag containing money and escaped in a waiting car.
Anyone who may notice any suspicious individuals or activities connected to the escapees is asked to contact the nearest police station or 225-6411.
@Tola posted:Rama seems to be losing he mind.
I am dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.
@Ramakant-P posted:I am dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.
There is no cure for psychosis.
@Totaram posted:The PPP can't even run a jail. Of course, the whole lot of them belong in a jail but that is another story. Bruck up Benn only marching around the market like he is some kind of bad man. He is only good at flooding people's houses and shooting women and children.
The PPP is not running the jail. The prison warden was appointed by the PNC. Mitwah was right. Fire his ass.
@Ramakant-P posted:The PPP is not running the jail. The prison warden was appointed by the PNC. Mitwah was right. Fire his ass.
The PPP can't run a jail, hospital or school. All they are good at is stealing.
@Totaram posted:The PPP can't run a jail, hospital or school. All they are good at is stealing.
Only a stupid person can say that.
@Ramakant-P posted:Only a stupid person can say that.
Only a chupid person can say this.
@Totaram posted:Only a chupid person can say this.
Sirf tum.
Why did the PPP choose to build a prison in a place like the heart of Lusignan ?
PPP Indian style thinking. Afraid to venture beyond.
@Mitwah posted:Why did the PPP choose to build a prison in a place like the heart of Lusignan ?
It was closer to your residence.
@seignet posted:PPP Indian style thinking. Afraid to venture beyond.
The jail was for the Black criminals.
@Tola posted:Rama seems to be losing he mind.
MR. Chupiness, what are you trying to insinuate?
@kp posted:It was closer to your residence.
Their original intentions were to put criminals from Buxton.
@Mitwah posted:Why did the PPP choose to build a prison in a place like the heart of Lusignan ?
It's really baffling. Lusignan is an Indo village.
@Former Member posted:It's really baffling. Lusignan is an Indo village.
The PPP had a logical reason for building the prison at Lusignan. It was closer to the local prisoner's family so the don't have to go to Camp street to visit. There were more crimes committed on the East Coast where PPP supporters live, so it was logical to build the prison there. But dem collie bhais don't like to be caged and their family help them to escape.
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