Lawyer, inmate clash as Prison riot CoI continues
Kenneth Griffith testifying before the three-man CoI on Monday
Kenneth Griffith testifying before the three-man CoI on Monday

THE Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Georgetown Prison riot continued on Monday with the lawyer representing the joint services and one of the inmates clashing over testimonies delivered at the hearing.This hearing also signalled the resumption of proceedings after a week’s break to obtain an extension in the time allotted for the completion of the inquiry. The commissioners, attorneys and members of the public heard from Kenneth Griffith, an inmate of the Capital ‘C’ Division of the penitentiary.

An emotional Griffith alleged to the Commission that it was Deputy Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, who instructed his juniors to lock the main access to the Capital ‘A’ Division of the Camp Street facility while it was on fire.

The murder accused recounted what he alleged that Samuels, who was sent on leave pending investigation of the Prison riots that resulted in the deaths of 17 inmates, had said. “He ask if they light any fire, and they said no, and then he said ‘well, if y’all ain’t light no fire, then lock them in deh and let they…burn.”

The Commission’s Counsel, Excellence Dazzell, questioned Griffith on what exactly was said by Samuels. “He asked his officers if they light the fire, because it was around the said time that we start seeing smoke coming from Capital ‘A’. He was standing in the yard and he went seeing the fire, that is why he asked the officers if they light the fire,” Griffith responded.

The prisoner, who has been on remand for three years, said that based on the information provided to Samuels by his juniors, Samuels was prompted to say: “Well y’all ain’t light no fire…lock the door.”

Asked whether he is aware of other occasions when prison officers may have lit the fires, the prisoner responded in the negative.

“In your estimation, why would Mr Samuels ask the officers if they lit the fire?” asked Dazzell.

“This is my speculation: probably he knew they had not light the fire…how the fire was lit I cannot say…whether it was the inmates or what; but whatever source the fire was lit by, he asked his officers and they said no. Maybe it had nothing to do with him and his officers,” Griffith expounded.

Samuels is currently on six weeks’ leave, dating back to March 3. It is unclear whether his leave will be extended, given the extension of the CoI to an additional two months.

The prisoner recounted pleading with Samuels to open the door. According to Griffith, Samuels was at the time leading the Prison’s Task Force Unit during the search of the inmates.

“I said, ‘Mr. Samuels, is people like yuhself up there!’ and he walk away…I don’t know if the other officers were intimidated by the gun in his waist, but they didn’t move,” Griffith told the Commission.

The prisoner recounted seeing black smoke emanating from the Capital ‘A’ Division at that time, and he said he heard inmates from that Division shout “Murder! Murder!”

“The guys upstairs at the time was shouting for: ‘Murder! Y’all open the door!’” Griffith said, as he noted that he heard lots of running upstairs of Division ‘C’.

“After a while, the noise from upstairs eased down,” he said, as he noted that it may have been an indication that the men had died.

Griffith noted that it was not until after the officer in charge of the Camp Street Prison, Kevin Pilgrim, had spoken to the officers that they picked up hoses and ran up the stairs. The prisoner said the officers’ belated action caused their efforts to be unsuccessful.

By the time the door was opened, the prisoners were already burnt, Griffith said. He cast blame on Samuels. He said, “When they bring out the inmates, I see they skin dropping off…then they bring out Paddy…a very dark person…he was pink, pink, pink. [This was] all because Mr Samuels tell the officers to lock the place.”

The prisoner contended that the Director of Prisons is responsible for the Prison facility, and “he has done many searches and it never happened in that manner.”

Griffith could not state how the fire started, but noted that, whatever the cause of the fire, lives should not have been lost.

The inmate’s story did not change despite suggestions put to him by attorney for the Guyana Prison Service and the Guyana Police Force, Selwyn Pieters. Under cross-examination by Pieters, Griffith maintained that it was Samuels who was responsible for the deaths of the 17 prisoners on March 3.

In a fiery exchange between Pieters and Griffith, the prisoner told Pieters, “You are being paid to lie”. This statement was objected to by Chairman of the CoI, Justice (retired) James Patterson.

The attorney for the joint services asked Griffith to describe the attire worn by Samuels on March 3. The prisoner, in response, said Samuels was dressed “task force uniform”, which was indicated by a green pants and green jersey. He noted that the face of the Deputy Director of Prisons was not masked.

The prisoner was then asked to describe the shoes Samuels wore. “I didn’t look to see what shoes he was wearing,” said Griffith, who noted that Samuels’s shoes at the time were not important. “I would suggest you did not see Samuels leading the task force,” Pieters told the prisoner, to which Griffith responded, “Your suggestion is wrong.”

Pieters, in a very feisty tone, maintained his argument, and this apparently aggravated the prisoner, who yelled, “He was there! Samuel was there!”

The attorney then said, “I suggest that Samuels was not wearing green pants and jersey.”

“Your suggestion is wrong,” said Griffith, who then called on Pieters to produce video evidence of his suggestions. “I suggest you bring the video footage…” the prisoner stated.

 

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