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Prison and Prisoners
Much is being said and written in these times concerning prisonsand prisoners. Perhaps, as far back as the history of nationsgoes it is recorded concerning their prisons.
A very young man was placed in prison down in Egypt in the verybeginning of Jewish history; not for any bad deed that he haddone, but rather for the evil that he would not do. He was framedand falsely accused of having the wife of a high Egyptian officer. Luckily for Joseph, he was sent to prison rather than the gallows.
There have always been prison terms forpetty crimes, while at the same time instruments of executionwere always set up somewhere in the same prison block, where thoseconvicted of major crimes paid with their lives the debt theyowed to society. This, no doubt, is what made, or even now make,prison such a feared place to mortals. In most democratic countriesthe vehicles of death in their prisons have ground to a halt rightnow.
That does not mean, however, that thereare no more executions in prisons. There was never an executiondone in Cayman.One Caymanian was hung for murder, but the sentenceof death was carried out in Jamaica, rather than in Grand Cayman. A decade or two ago, a gallows in Northward Prison was a greatissue among the populace; nevertheless the powers that were wonout, and built the gallows there, even though no one has everswung on it.
There were at least five people in the prisonthat had been sentenced to a hanging death.Among the Arabs, theold Roman style of beheading criminals is still carried out, whilein certain parts of Europe and Africa the gallows are still used. Others choose to end the life of opponents by a firing squad. Closer to home, in the U.S.A. the electric chair and lethal injectionare used as their instruments of death.
Anyway, I am thinking of a brighter sideof prison life in my own country. No one lies there through sleeplessnights thinking about his day of execution; on the other sideof the coin, each prisoner may think with a ray of hope of theday when he or she obtains a pardon for the mistakes that havebeen made.Permit me, if you please, to bring here a simple reviewof prisons in Grand Cayman, which being the capital of the threeislands, had to clean all the mud that accumulated against theface of government.
As one who over a period of years has hadto deal with prisoners, even before there was a prison as such,I feel competent to express some thoughts concerning prison andthe prisoners.During the forties, I served for four years as apolice constable. In those days there were no prison guards,but rather it was the responsibility of the police to take careof those who were sentenced to serve whatever time in prison.
One year was, however, the maximum timeserved here; all in excess of that time had to serve the timein Jamaica.This, and the following article, have to do with mygetting across to the young people of my beloved homeland thediscomforts and misfortunes of being a prisoner in a small communitysuch as ours. Now back there in old times, there were only afew people who really found themselves on the down side of thelaw.
For that reason there was no large prisoninstitution on the island.Recently I read of a declaration ofa director of prison, or rather an inspector, I think they saidhe was. Anyway, the gentleman is quoted as saying that the WestBay lock-up was the worst he had ever seen anywhere, but you see,he had never seen the prison on Elgin Avenue, where the PoliceHeadquarters now stand, when it was in use.
Permit me to outline for my readers, ashadowy picture of that place.It was like a garage in shape, builton to what was then an excuse for a police station, in the formof a large box with a smaller one sitting on top of it. Therewas no architectural design in any which way.Anyway our interestis in the H. M. Prison down below there. The garage had roofingon two sides of it, leaving the centre portion uncovered.
On either side of the covered portionsthere were six cubicles, no toilet or bath, no dining section. When it rained, which was very often quite heavily, the centresection was turned into a shallow lake. The sun shone brightlydown through the open top leaving the poor inmate to bake in hiscement cubicle.Food was brought in supplied by an outside lady.
Slops were done in buckets; each ward hada bucket, which out of spite and hate some times was dumped rightout there on the open floor.The inmates were guarded by a constablewho sat upstairs and looked down at them to be sure that all waswell with them. Luckily for all concerned, there was hardly atime when all of the bunks were employed.
Being imprisoned in those days was mostlya matter of a petty theft, or the destruction of property by adrunk and such-like offences. On Saturday nights, often a coupleof drunks would be kept in safe keeping until Sunday when theywere sober enough to go home.You are asking me how were criminalshandled in parts of the island out of the reach of George Town? Sure enough, there were problems in such isolated places as NorthSide and East End.
Well, each district was supplied with aJustice of the Peace, who might have been termed as the Lord Mayor,totally responsible to preserve law and order. Also appointedwas a District Constable to carry out the biddings of the J.P. In each government building in the districts, which was mostlythe school, a little cubicle was reserved where a law offendercould be kept overnight.
It was the District Constable's duty todeliver the offender to the police station in George Town to becharge and tried. It was not always an easy task in the absenceof a vehicle between the town and the country. Once a man choppedanother one with a machete, seriously wounding him. So now itwas time for the D.C. to prove his manhood; but you know what! When D.C. got in sight of that man calling out the words "arrest,and in the name of the King", the man moved for him, notwith one machete but with two.
Well, what would you have done with yourstick as a shield against two machetes in the hands of a crazyman? The D.C. did just what any sensible one of us would havedone - he used the best defence he had, which was his feet, toput the longest and safest distance between the two of them.Therehad to be a solution to this terrible episode, but how? The J.P. conscripted a brave and robust young man and swore him into service,in the name of the King, to assist in the arrest and securityof the criminal to deliver him to the authorities in George Townto stand trial.
That being done, the man was caught whilesleeping that night and handcuffed separately from his belovedmachetes.As soon as day began to clear the two constables wereon their way to George Town riding their horses while the prisonerwalked ahead of them, a bangle on each wrist, and a small headrope attached to each hand, one being attached to each horse.
Using such precautionary measures, by middaythey delivered the prisoner to the police station in George Town.OnFriday the man appeared in court before two justices but was quicklydetermined as unfit to answer the charges against him. He wastermed as being insane, and was turned over to his father, whosigned responsibility for him.
Incidentally, the rough experience he hadhad, being arrested, held in shackles, the trip to town, and beinglocked away there for several days, all mixed together must haveserved as a special tonic for him. He, of course, remained asthe idiot which he had been born, but never again got in troublewith the law.Summary Court which was held on Friday, if therewere sufficient cases to merit a sitting and could sometimes bea joke which ended as such.
The court was operated by the Clerk of theCourts, two Justices, the Inspector of Police, or the sergeantand a constable.One cloudy and grey Friday morning, a lad fromEast End was taken into the courtroom for trial. The Clerk readthe charge against him: "You did abuse and beat a donkey,and so and so.
Are you guilty or not guilty?" Theaccused then fell into a loud laughter: "Ha ha ha! old dankysay whoop, whoop, whoop." Further questioned by a J.P.,after another big laugh, he shouted out, "Aw fool fool." The JP, Mr. Hill, pulling his glasses down on his nose bridgeso as to have a better look at the accused, declared: "Youare not only fool, fool, you are a damned fool. Take him outof this court.
We have no provision for trying two jackassesin the court. Case dismissed!"Well, courts might have seemedlike a joke in times past, but no one wanted to appear in a criminalcourt, because there was no cash with which to pay a fine, andit was either cash or prison and between the chinks and the dogfleas, 30 days in that hole could seem like a long time. No onecared to return to that 'guest room'. The old folks said, "abad experience teaches fools to be wise."Next week we willhear about present prison conditions and what it means to oursociety.
Men of the Sea
by Will Jackson
Men of the Sea,we call them Seamen
Over the seas they sail again and again.
Sure, they have homes in which to abide,
But it is by the sea only they survive.
Cash for every day is the essential thing,
This by sailing the seas they must bring.
Seamen, they gosome times for long spells
A voyage sometimes can be a living hell
Storms and tempests, they regularly face
Even to the point of a watery grave.
It certainly isn't a pleasant task,
But once a seaman, that is all he can ask.
Seamen, they travelthe world over
In many places they find a lover.
Let's have a good time, they say,
Life out there is so uncertain from day to day
So pleasures galore, they have in their mind,
Just seeking it out where it may be found
No, all seamenare not really alike.
Some are very serious concerning their plight
A dollar to the prudent ones means much,
Thinking of the family for whom life can be tough.
But the wild man regards not God or home
Just have a good time, spend it faster than it come.
This may soundto seamen most degrading
But what does he care whose life is receding
Me and myself he says, is all that matter
Just have a good time and die shortly after.
So my friends, that's the reason a seaman is never rich
But must keep on sailing up to the Pearly Gate.