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Walking Back
The Court and PrisonsPart II
Will Jackson

Last week: Readers will recall the storyof John, the East Ender who stole from other people's farms untilthe law caught up with him. He was sentenced but 90 days at hardlabour (bushing the cemetery) and was helped by men in the districtto carry out this task. The man who had turned him in appealedto the magistrate for mercy and he was released after the 60thday.

That is not the end of the story. The farmersunited in finding a plot of land and clearing and planting itwith the local plants of the time.

Taking John to the springing cultivationthey presented it to him as his own, land and all. Well, Johnwas never known to steal anything again. He grew his own produce,and gave away all of his surplus to the helpless ones in the district.

Today's courts have been modernised andmagnified far above anything that was known even 50 years ago.

Having graduated from district Courts, sessionswere held in George Town on Fridays before two Justices of thePeace, with the Clerk of Courts directing each case. The outcomewould often be according to who the accused was, and to whom hebelonged.

What is probably the oldest building leftstanding in George Town is now the museum, and was originallythe Court House - the scene of many sensational trials as wellas many humourous ones.

A case uppermost in my mind for its humourconcerned a man accused of assaulting and abusing a donkey. TheClerk of Courts read out the case and charges and asked the usualquestions: "How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?"

Waiting a while for the plea, it was againrepeated: "Guilty or not guilty?"

The accused roared out in laughter: "Theold donkey say 'woop, woop.' I fool fool."

The Justice replied: "You are not onlyfool fool, you are a damn fool. Get him out of the court!",he ordered. "There is no law to deal with two jackasses inthe Court." End of case.

Grand Court hearings were heard twice ayear, June and December, when a judge from Jamaica and a coupleof barristers came to the island to preside over the cases thatwere set for trials.

This was the condition of the Courts untilthe 60s and 70s when the Cayman Islands grew out of infancy andbegan to walk uprightly.

A modern Court building was erected withthe space for at least two court sessions each day. It is notlikely that the government at that time foresaw a need for morecourt space during the country. But how wrong they were!

That building has long ago become insufficientto meet the demands for day-to-day Court cases.

Many cases are waiting, sometimes for acouple of years to obtain a trial schedule.

This is the truly saddening part of Cayman'sdevelopment: crime has also developed out of control. Drugs offences,unheard of 60 or 70 years ago, are now commonplace cases throughoutthe islands.

Robberies, burglaries and theft are allin daily use; any unlawful act that can help the addict to obtainthe finance to purchase another fix, is willingly tried.

There is no marvel that the prison at Northwardis over-populated on a continuous basis. The government sees moreprison cells as a solution to the problems that face the islandtoday. But that is hardly so.

It is said that prisons are prepared asa deterrent to would-be criminals. However, the many repeat prisoninmates refute that idea. Unlike most prisons and prisoners aroundthe world, the Northward prison and inmates seem to be all aboutcontentment, and in some ways, enjoyment.

Our prison system is often referred toas Her Majesty's Hotel, where room and board are free. The foodfar surpasses any meal that most inmates would be able to haveon the outside.

Fifty years ago, the prison in George Townwas only a garage built onto the police station and containedfour cells which were made with cement floor, walls and top. Therewas an open area in the centre with only barbed wire as the roofing,a very flat surface; but the few people who had the misfortuneof getting in there wouldn't ever want to return when freed.

The place was a furnace during the summer,and an ice-box in winter, and a mosquito habitation. I guardeda good many people there during my three years of service as policeconstable. Often at nights, a smoke pan had to be lit, out ofcompassion for the inmates.

I am not saying that prisoners ought tobe mistreated in any fashion. They are all unfortunate human beings,whom Satan has led into problems and troubles; but if a man isplaced in a situation which he terms the best he has ever faredin his life, what incentive does he have to determine to stayaway from that situation?

Won't he always say, as I have more thanonce been told at Northward Prison, "I don't mind being here,they treat me good."

More and more prison cells are being built,but that is not the answer. The Courts must find some other waysto send out the message to convicts and offenders that there issomething more realistic about paying their debt to society thancooling off and enjoying three balanced meals per day in Northward.

Community service in shackles, eight hoursa day, with house arrest after the day's work; surely many prisoncells would remain vacant and a lot of prison guards would beout of a job in a little while.

Ask Sheriff Arpaio of Arizona and listento his solution: Readers Digest August 1997, page 126.

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