Today marks 12 years since the Mashramani Day jailbreak, in which five convicted criminals shot and stabbed their way out of the Camp Street Prison. In their bid to escape former prison officer, Roxanne Winfield was shot and injured that day while on duty at the main gate.

Mrs. Winfield’s condition has improved over the years and is presently residing with her sister, Jacklyn Gonsalves, who lives at 46, ‘A’ Enterprise West, East Coast Demerara.

During a visit Mrs. Winfield remembered me even after all the years and was pleased to see me and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek as she enquired about how I was doing.

Still very pleasant and full of smiles she said that she is keeping well and tries to do some things for herself like changing her blouse.

She is pretty in-tune to what is happening around her and is more able to communicate with her relatives as some words are more audible.

Mrs. Winfield is unable to move into her house at Nabaclis, also on the East Coast Demerara, because there is no electricity or water at the residence, which was completed in December last year as several organisations, pooled their resources and constructed a one-flat concrete house.

She was given a plot of land at the location by a relative but the transport for the property is still being processed so she is yet to uplift it to present to the utility companies in order to secure water and electricity supply to her home.

Mrs. Winfield is still supported by the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) with a ration of pampers and health supplements such as Complan, Ensure and sometimes groceries.

She is also receiving monthly assistance from the Guyana Relief Council (GRC).

In addition, she is supported by kind donations from relatives and her National Insurance Scheme (NIS) payout and will celebrate her 50th birthday in April.

As I was chatting with her she asked to be taken out on Mashramani Day since she wanted to see the float parade and be able to be around a lot of people to celebrate the occasion.

Mrs. Winfield has two children-a son, who works in the interior and a daughter still attending school.

She seems quite comfortable but is anxious about moving into her own home where she can have her children around.

On that ill-fated day Mrs. Winfield showed up for work when five notorious prisoners — Troy Dick, Shawn Brown, Andrew Douglas, Mark Fraser and Dale Moore staged what later came to be called the 2002 Mash Day Jailbreak.

She bravely resisted their order for her to open the gate to allow them illegal freedom, even after they had stabbed dead her colleague Troy Williams, 21; and because of her defiance she was shot and injured while the group managed to escape.

She is blind in the left eye, and has a hole in the left side of her temple where she was shot.
She was placed on a life support machine for several weeks, and underwent very delicate surgeries performed by local doctors as well as Neurologist Dr Richard Spann. He determined that the bullet entered Mrs. Winfield’s right cheek, exiting through the left ear, causing damage to the brain necessitating a removal of a portion of her brain.

She lost her husband, Mark Winfield in December 2006 and later her parents passed away as well.

She had been staying with her former sister-in-law, Alexis De Court, at Lot 83 Plum Park, Sophia, Georgetown, who had been taking care of her for several years.

She is still unable to walk and is confined to a wheelchair; but that doesn’t prevent her from being her usual jovial self, still smiling and laughing with anyone who is up for a chat. Doctors have been able to achieve much success in her recovery, even though she is handicapped.
Roxanne Winfield: Twelve years after that tragic day