By Rabindra Rooplall
A RECRUIT prison warden who was stabbed by an inmate of the Lusignan Prison Sunday last is recovering well while police are continuing their investigations.Prison Officer Kevin Patterson, 22, of New Amsterdam, Berbice was stabbed with a sharpened wire by murder accused Paul Charles, 30, at around 14.30hrs at the Prison.

Deputy Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels who recently visited the injured prison warden at the Georgetown Public Hospital said that the injured recruit is recovering well. He said police are investigating the matter and the prison is assisting in whatever way it can.

The attack reportedly occurred when Patterson and other staff were preparing to serve meals to the inmates. His assailant also received injuries, reportedly while being subdued. He is also being treated at the GPH.

According to reports, the prisoner and the recruit had an altercation earlier in the day when Charles had refused to return to his cell. Then at around 14.30 hrs, Charles stabbed Patterson with the sharpened implement when the recruit and other colleagues were preparing to give prisoners their meals.

According to prison sources, Charles had alleged that Patterson had shot at him during the March 3, 2016 Georgetown Prison unrest in which 17 inmates perished.

However, a prison officer made it clear that there is no possibility that Patterson could have shot at Charles, since Patterson is still undergoing training and would not have been issued with a firearm.

Prison sources said that Charles has displayed erratic behaviour since his incarceration, though he has not been deemed mentally ill. He was one of a number of prisoners who were transferred from the Georgetown Prison to the Lusignan Prison, in a bid to ease overcrowding at the Camp Street penitentiary.

Inmate Paul Charles has been on remand for the past seven years for the December 21, 2009 murder of 50-year-old boat operator Patricia Williams at Foulmouth, Essequibo River.

Her partially nude body was discovered by residents in a clump of bushes close to a landing. An autopsy revealed that the woman was strangled and sexually assaulted. Investigations revealed that Williams had transported a group of men, including Charles, from Bartica to Foulmouth.