‘Can the prison service keep my son safe until the end of his sentence?’

Dear Editor, With all the drama of the Camp Street prison fire, jailbreak, pasture prison, tarmac prison, brick prison, Lusignan prisoners and security at war, prisoners shot and still no solution, I am hoping to see my son alive. He stole my neighbour’s phone and was waiting for trial when he scaled the Camp Street prison fence, according to prison officials. His case for the cell phone was dismissed and he was given twelve months imprisonment for scaling the fence.

I did not help him with a lawyer because I felt that I have been helping since 2010 when it was determined that he is mentally unstable. I regard his life just as I regard any other; the authorities took him alive into their care so I hope that is how he is going to get out of there. His reaction to the charges laid against him and sentencing in the courtroom are an indication of his state of mind.

The Government of Guyana took my son into their care in December 2016. Are they capable of keeping my son Roscoe McIntyre safe through to the end of his sentence? What will they tell me if anything goes wrong? What did they tell the relatives of Charles Peters? Is that what they are going to tell me? Mentally deranged individuals need to have better care and a better holding place.

I went to the prison service to seek an audience with the Director of Prisons about my concerns and was told that he was out. The people there took my contact information and said they will contact me. To this very day I was not contacted. Maybe if he had given me the time of day he would have gotten some ideas that would have prevented the daring prison break that cost his prison a loss of life and property. Since this event took place after my son strolled out of the prison months before the daring escape, I always thought there was lack of security. Persons in high office need to be ready to listen to and accept constructive criticisms; criticisms which can turn into ideas that most have to pay consultants for.

Yours faithfully, Lorraine McIntyre