A TOTAL of approximately 214 prisoners have been transferred to other locations, while another 198 are scheduled to be released, both in an attempt to reduce the overcrowding plaguing the prison system.

The Guyana Chronicle understands that since the prisoners that were displaced from the Camp Street prison which went up in flames are being housed in a now overcrowded Lusignan Prison, many of them have been transferred while others are scheduled to be released. Though the officers remained tight-lipped about whether all prisoners have been identified and accounted for at the Lusignan Prison, the Guyana Chronicle understands that some 214 inmates have been transferred to the Mazaruni, New Amsterdam and Timehri prisons.

In addition to this figure, prison and judicial authorities have assessed the charges of many prisoners and some 91 inmates imprisoned for non-violent crimes who were unable to pay their bail previously have been sent on their own recognizance; 50 prisoners who were charged for the possession of small amounts of marijuana have qualified for bail and another 57 who were scheduled to be officially released within the month are expected to be sent on early release by Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan. All in all, a total of 198 inmates should be released.

The Guyana Chronicle found on Tuesday that 33 prisoners were already discharged. These prisoners were those who were scheduled to be released from the Camp Street prison shortly. A majority of those released were scheduled to be released within the month. Additionally, it was disclosed by a reliable source that those released were all well-behaved and cooperative inmates.
Prison service officers related that the remaining number of prisoners will remain in the Lusignan prison on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD); reports reaching the Guyana Chronicle indicate that some 60 inmates are confined to the ECD prison.

Family members of the prisoners have been congregating in the environs of the Lusignan Prison in an attempt to verify whether their loved ones are being housed at the facility, transported to other locations or remain unidentified or unaccounted for.

In response to this, members of the GPS have been able to create a list of some of the inmates housed there. Upon hearing that their family members were inside the prison, they were able to send through food and clothing items to provide some comfort to the inmates. A number of prisoners displaced after the fire at the Camp Street jail joined Lusignan inmates on July 9, but due to the overcrowding at the building, persons were placed in a pasture within the perimeter of the prison.

On July 10, 22 inmates were released on bail after magistrates were dispatched to the Cecil Kilkenny Prison Officers’ Training School in Lusignan, where a temporary court was set up. The Guyana Chronicle understands that among the inmates who were granted bail are persons who were remanded on charges of embezzlement; obtaining false documents; uttering false information; threatening language; larceny; fraud; perjury, damage to property; smoking illegal substances or in possession of improvised smoking utensils; being in possession of cannabis below 50g; possession of cocaine below 25g and dangerous driving. Some were remanded while others were granted bail, but could not post the amount.