Dear Editor,
I’D like to clarify something from the outside looking in and knowing the facts the misconception of the media and what people are saying is incorrect (or not correct). To begin with it was NOT a prison break, it was an unrest followed by the prison being on fire and the ultimate escape was escaping death.

Had it been a prison break the entire prison would have been empty and prisoners would have been all over the land having the country under duress. In this case the prison was on fire. Let us reason, if the prison is on fire what do you expect those inside the building or compound to do?
Granted those who planned to escape did just that, they escaped death the others as tempted as they were sensed danger and saw death close up so amidst protest about the conditions they sought to be free from being a statistic among the possibility of that death. Imagine 1,018 men in a prison and about six unaccounted for amongst those probably four or even just three may have really intended to escape. The others I call opportunistic survivors. They could’ve been torched to death in that building and we have disregarded that. Fact is we don’t look at them as humans anymore and that’s something that is confusing me.

To me it is sad to see how the state is hunting for the survivors armed to the teeth. To me when someone survives something as tragic as that you don’t go looking for them to kill them it is like you had wanted them to stay in there and burn in the first place. That doesn’t resonate well with me because some were on remand. I don’t want to believe these survivors are just on the run. They fear to come back to the authorities. Who want them dead. I don’t blame them in that case for hiding. But I hope those survivors out there are not causing harm to others, that they have no intent on causing harm to others. I hope that they have the freedom for a long time while this government fixes itself.

Our President, for whom I have great respect, should know first-hand how it feels to be accused of something you never have done. In Camp Street there were a lot of innocent people waiting on a court date or because they couldn’t afford bail for a ‘spliff’ which was wrong in the first place and I hope that that part of the system is fixed soon. Personally, the feeling at present is if those survivors come together and form a political party and participate in the next election, we have a clear winner because clearly, this administration or our leaders of this administration are perfect politicians and we don’t want a perfect politician to govern imperfect people, cause we all are imperfect.

We all have flaws. Where is the empathy? Government has no empathy on its own and that’s bad. I pray and I hope that these survivors are not found and killed and I also hope that these survivors take my advice and don’t harm people and just pray that smartness prevails and that this government fixes itself and we could come to some conclusion where you could return yourself back and have a retrial for lesser sentences and things could move forward.

Yes, you do the crime you then should do the time, but a harsh penalty as death I don’t think is necessary in these times. Guyana should never have the death penalty, it is ridiculous it’s like man can be God now you know and that’s wrong. I am not a supporter of the death penalty, I am not a supporter of doing crimes and thinking that there are no consequences also.

However, I do know most of these guys claim innocence and when a criminal does something and he survives a tragedy such as the Camp Street fire, I think you should pardon that person because a lawsuit can be waiting for the government, because the government had to protect those prisoners. Why should I stay in a building on fire that you control?

What about if something happened to me where is my liability? The government can be sued and if I could do anything for justice and anybody wants sue the
government, I will be a founder/funder to that movement. I’m for justice, the government can face a defamation lawsuit by calling the unaccounted survivors escapees from lawful custody; being in a burning building is not lawful custody.

Regards
Noel Shawnpey