Dignity of the Individual
La Dignidad de la Persona Humana
La Dignité de la Personne Humaine
A Dignidade da Pessoa Humana

EVALUATION OF PRISONS
IN

THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants
Third International Conference - June 2006

Dignity
Dignidad
Dignité

American Convention on Human Rights, Costa Rica, November 22, 1969.

ISBN. 978-1-892063-18-2

Dignidade

Article 5.6:
Punishments
consisting of
deprivation of liberty
shall have as an essential
aim the reform and social
adaptation of the prisoners.

Dignity of the Individual
La Dignidad de la Persona Humana
La Dignité de la Personne Humaine
A Dignidade da Pessoa Humana

EVALUATION OF PRISONS
IN

THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

International CURE
Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants
Third International Conference June 2006
Prison Photos by Alan Pogue

Copyright 2006 by International CURE
PO Box 2310, Washington, D.C. 20013-2310
cure@curenational.org www.curenational.org
ISBN 978-1-892063-18-2

Articles quoted are from The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of
Man (1948), The American Convention on Human Rights (1969), The InterAmerican Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture (1985), The Protocol to
the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty (1990),
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations (1948), and
The Inter-American Democratic Charter (2001).

Kim Pathways, Publisher, Katonah, NY

ii

Contents
Guatemala------------------60
Guyana ----------------------62
Haiti ------------------------66
Honduras -------------------69
Jamaica ---------------------73
Mexico----------------------76
Nicaragua ------------------79
Panama ---------------------81
Paraguay--------------------83
Peru -------------------------85
St. Kitts and Nevis --------88
St. Lucia--------------------90
St. Vincent
& the Grenadines ---------92
Suriname -------------------94
Trinidad & Tobago -------97
United States -------------101
Uruguay ------------------105
Venezuela ----------------109

Human Rights America----1
Optional Protocol ----------3
Antigua and Barbuda ------7
Argentina-------------------10
Bahamas--------------------12
Barbdos---------------------16
Belize-----------------------18
Bolivia----------------------22
Brazil -----------------------25
Canada ---------------------30
Chile------------------------35
Columbia-------------------38
Costa Rica------------------41
Cuba ------------------------44
Dominica-------------------47
Dominican Republic------49
Ecuador---------------------53
El Salvador-----------------56
Grenada---------------------58

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Photographs by Alan Pogue: legalpad (page 9), dorm (page 11), downbars (page 15),
2room (page 17), computer (page 21), pregnant (page 24), infirmary copy (page 29),
lostyouth copy (page 34), younginmates (page 37), adminseg copy (page 40), chess2
copy (page 43), wheelchair copy (page 46), 14prisonart (page 48), 3tiers (page 52),
pictureofbaby1 (page 55), hug (page 57), arrangingflowers (page 59), Bayview Closeup
(page 61), GaryPhone (page 65), solitary (page 68), fampics (page 72), Broxton (page
75), laundry (page 75), lockdown (page 78), onbars (page 80), church (page 82), legalref
(page 84), phone (page 87), BayviewOutside (page 89), exonerated (page 91), jumping
(page 93), mystory copy (page 96), deathchamber (page 100), condemned (page 104),
ruiz-1978 (page 108), mental (page 111).
Back cover: Double view of Auburn cell block.

iii

International CURE
Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants

Advocating for more restorative justice systems
1. Alternatives to incarceration; incarceration only when absolutely necessary.
2. Programs during incarceration that enable individuals to turn their lives around.
3. Post-release programs that support a successful reentry back into society.

iv

CURE

Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants, Inc.

Dear Friends,
The first line of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man states that “the
American peoples have acknowledged the dignity of the individual.” In the other three official
languages of the Organization of American States (OAS), it is La Dignidad de la Persona
Humana in Spanish, La Dignité de la Personne Humaine in French, and A Dignidade da
Pessoa Humana in Portuguese.
The Ninth International Conference of American States approved this American Declaration
in 1948 and also created the OAS. The OAS Charter adopted, proclaimed the “fundamental
rights of the individual” as one of its basic principles.
In this spirit, we have compiled reports on the prison systems of all thirty-five countries of the
Organization of the American States. The reports are in two publications. The first is in English
and the second is the same content, but in the primary language of the country. We are presenting
the first report during CURE’s Third International Conference on Human Rights and Prison
Reform, in Washington from June 24th to June 27th, 2006.
CURE is a grassroots criminal justice reform organization. The majority of our leaders and
members are citizens who have either been incarcerated or have had a loved one who is or was
incarcerated. This document reflects that grassroots nature.
More than one hundred persons from throughout the Americas have been involved in the
production of these reports. These are volunteers - not professional penologists or academics.
They are individuals who, because they have been touched by the criminal justice system in
some way, are keenly interested in how these systems work, how they compare, and what we
can do to make them better. Each has done his or her best to find answers to a set of questions.
As expected, some have been more successful than others. All have learned a great deal.
There are a few people whose contributions we wish to highlight. Dr. Tony Payan encouraged
his class at the University of Texas at El Paso to perform research and help with the translations.
Ken Robison, whose son, Larry, was executed by the State of Texas in 2000, performed research
on five countries and assisted with the translations. Finally, we would especially thank Dr.
Creasie Finney Hairston, Dean of the Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of
Illinois at Chicago. As co-sponsor of the 2006 CURE conference, the College has provided
much of the support for the publication and distribution of these reports. The College also cosponsored the publication of the Proceedings of our first conference in 2001. Also, as in that
publication, so in this publication, we have the packaging and production by Rudy and Betty
Cypser and the photography of Alan Pogue.
We will close with the facts that the Organization of the American States is the oldest regional
organization in the world dating back to 1860, and the American Declaration of the Rights and
Duties of Man is even older than the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Thus, it is most fitting that the first concept of this American Declaration be the title of these
prison reports. The “Dignity of the Individual” must permeate all government activities and is
most tested in the operation of its prisons.
Charles Sullivan, Executive Director
International CURE

Kay Perry, Chair
International CURE

v

Human Rights in the Americas
The Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the American Declaration of
the Rights and Duties of Man in 1948. Among the rights and duties it defines, Article
XXV states that:
Every individual who has been deprived of his liberty has the right to
have the legality of his detention ascertained without delay by a court
and the right to be tried without undue delay or, otherwise, to be
released. He also has the right to humane treatment during the time
he is in custody.
In the same year, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly. In its Preamble, the Declaration asserted that:
recognition of the inherent integrity and of equal and inalienable rights
of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice
and peace in the world.
and Article 5 proclaimed that:
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
The American Convention on Human Rights signed in 1969 echoed the language from
the Universal Declaration and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, stating in Article 5 – Right to Humane Treatment – that:
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment or treatment. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be
treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.
Article 5 also requires the separation of juveniles from adults and their special treatment
appropriate to their status as minors; the segregation of sentenced and pretrial prisoners;
and states that “punishments consisting of deprivation of liberty shall have as an essential
aim the reform and social readaption of the prisoners”.
It was no coincidence that the key documents produced after the end of the Second
World War and during the Cold War spelled out the universality of human rights and
the rights of people deprived of liberty. The generation that produced them had witnessed
the worst that a state can inflict on human beings in its power. They saw how the
dehumanization of particular groups and the sanction of the state for their degradation
and abuse, could lead to the institutionalized abuse of human rights. As international
prison reformer, Baroness Vivien Stern has so eloquently expressed it, “Detained people
are included because human rights extend to all human beings. It is a basic tenet of
international human rights law that nothing can put a human being beyond the reach of
certain human rights protections. Some people may be less deserving than others. Some
may lose many of their rights through having been imprisoned through proper and
legal procedures. But the basic rights to life, health, fairness and justice, humane
treatment, dignity and protection from ill treatment or torture remain. There is a minimum
1

standard for the way a state treats people, whoever they are. No one should fall below
it.”1
The OAS further defined the rights of people deprived of liberty through the InterAmerican Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture (1985) which defines torture as
“any act intentionally performed whereby physical or mental pain or suffering is
inflicted…..Torture shall also be understood to be the use of methods upon a person
intended to obliterate the personality of the victim or to diminish his physical or mental
capacities, even if they do not cause physical pain or mental anguish.” The InterAmerican Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons (1994) requires every person
deprived of liberty to be held in an officially recognized place of detention and be
brought before a competent judicial authority without delay. It also requires that states
maintain up-to-date registries of their detainees and make them available to relatives,
judges and attorneys.
The InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights is the body charged by the OAS “to
promote the observance and defense of human rights and to serve as consultative organ
of the Organization in this matter.” The Commission examines petitions filed by
individuals who claim the violation of a protected right and may recommend measures
to be carried out by the state to remedy the violation. If the country involved has accepted
the Inter-American Court’s jurisdiction, the Commission may submit the case to the
Court for a binding decision.
The Commission also conducts on-site visits to member countries, at their invitation,
to analyze and report on the status of human rights. It has recently appointed a special
rapporteur for the rights of people deprived of liberty.
Recognizing the commitment of the OAS to upholding human rights throughout the
Americas, we have focused the questions asked by this survey on those generally
accepted rights applicable to persons deprived of liberty.
The assertion of an inalienable right to human dignity should form the basis for review
of all prison conditions.
Footnotes:
1 Vivien Stern, A Sin Against the Future: Imprisonment in the World, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, England,
1998.

Article 8. Any person or group of persons who consider that their
human rights have been violated may present claims or petitions
to the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of
human rights in accordance with its established procedures.
Inter-American Democratic Charter, 2001.
2

OPCAT
Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention
Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel,
Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

a practical tool to prevent torture
and other forms of ill-treatment
in the Americas
The recent attempts to undermine the absolute prohibition of torture and other forms of illtreatment have forced the human rights community as a whole to re-state their support to the
struggle against such inhuman practices in general, and to insist on the pressing need to adopt
concrete measures to prevent them from occurring. This international conjuncture has led both
Ms. Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Mr. Don McKinnon,
Secretary General of the Commonwealth, to focus their 2005 International Human Rights Day
declarations on this issue.
With over 140 State parties, the Convention against Torture is one of the most widely ratified
human rights treaties. This should be an indication of the support given to this idea of absolute
prohibition of torture throughout the world. However, it is of common knowledge that many of
those States that have adhered to the Convention have failed to comply with their obligation to
take all necessary measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment. This conclusion has led many
to express the need to complement the legal protection with a practical instrument.
On 18 December 2002 the UN General Assembly adopted, by an overwhelming majority1, the
Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), which seeks to establish a system of regular
visits to places of detention, to be carried out by international and national independent expert
bodies. No other global international treaty provides for such concrete action to prevent torture.
From the early days of the negotiation process, many American countries were heavily involved.
The Working Group which was set up by the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1991 to
prepare what came to be known as the “Draft Optional Protocol (to the UN Convention against
Torture)” was chaired by Costa Rica. After ten years of negotiation, in 2001, Mexico suggested
the preventive framework envisaged by the Draft Optional Protocol — which was until then
limited to visits by an international Subcommittee on Prevention operating globally —be
expanded and complemented by a national component. This proposal broke the deadlock and,
shortly thereafter, the Working Group agreed on a final version, which was then submitted to
the Commission on Human Rights during its 57th session in 2002 for its approval.
A global campaign
The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT)2, an international NGO based in Geneva,
Switzerland, has been closely involved in the development of the OPCAT. Now, the APT has
been entrusted by the Coalition of International NGOs against Torture (CINAT)3 to lead an
international campaign promoting ratification and entry into force of this innovative treaty.
The APT is one of various actors, operating both within and outside CINAT, calling for universal
ratification and implementation of the OPCAT.
3

At the regional level, the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights co-authored, together
with the APT, a comprehensive manual on the OPCAT, which is now available in English,
French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Georgian. On top of that, countless human rights
NGOs operating in most American States — including the United States — wholeheartedly
support the OPCAT and have launched local initiatives aimed at convincing their respective
governments to adhere to this new treaty.
Since its adoption by the UN General Assembly, global and regional human rights institutions
have consistently expressed support for signature and ratification of the OPCAT. Unsurprisingly,
the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) has repeatedly recommended that States Parties
consider ratifying the Optional Protocol4. Although the UN Human Rights Committee, the
treaty body which emanated from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has
not urged States to consider ratifying the OPCAT, it has indirectly shown the way to States
appearing before it insisting that they “put in place independent monitoring bodies”5 or that
they “take urgent and effective measures to prevent arbitrary detention and torture by State
agents”6.
Although the Inter-American human rights system has refrained from making explicit reference
to an international treaty which falls outside the realm of its jurisdiction, it has urged member
States to address ill-treatment and inadequate conditions of detention which, on too many
occasions, have led to episodes of extreme violence. The governments of Brazil, Guatemala
and Honduras, to name but a few, have had to deal with casualties in prison and are now
looking at ways to come to terms with those “social ticking bombs”.
While independent and regular monitoring is no miracle solution, it can be argued that regular
visits by the national and international mechanisms contemplated by the OPCAT to all places
of deprivation of liberty, including transitory detention facilities and military barracks, together
with a similarly cooperative response by government officials, can contribute to a broad reduction
in cases of ill-treatment.
The OPCAT is of particular relevance to the Americas, a region which, unlike Europe, does not
come with a regional visiting body. While it is true that a Special Rapporteur on the Rights of
People Deprived of Their Liberty was appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights in 2001, and that the current mandate-holder, Mr. Florentín Melendez, has conducted a
number of visits since he took on the position7, this mechanism lacks the financial and human
resources necessary to undertake an extensive program of visits.
No matter how we look at it, by no means does the work undertaken by Mr. Melendez match
that of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), a body of independent
experts responsible for carrying out visits to all 53 member States of the Council of Europe.
Since it was established in 1990, the CPT, whose work has greatly inspired the drafters of the
OPCAT, has established itself as a reference in the field of torture prevention, and has developed
an expertise equally recognized throughout the region by State actors and civil society
organisations. The IACHR Special Rapporteur acknowledges the limitations of its action, and
has, many times, advocated for the ratification of the OPCAT by American States, to increase
the number of visits made to all types of detention facilities, including psychiatric institutions
and rehabilitation centres for young offenders.
The challenge of implementing the OPCAT
The implementation process should not prove too problematic in most countries of the region,
which boast effective national human rights institutions (ombudsman’s offices, national human
4

rights commission) whose mandate already includes monitoring places of detention, as well as
committed and active human rights NGOs dedicated to combating torture. These existing
torture-prevention components should ease implementation of the OPCAT in the region.
In March 2006, participants from the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) of all Central
American States – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
– gathered in Panama City for a seminar on the role of NHRI in torture prevention. The seminar,
jointly organized by the APT, the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights and the Panama
Ombudsman Office (Defensoría del Pueblo de Panamá) addressed the need for NHRIs to
actively promote adhesion to the OPCAT by their governments.
For their part, the NHRI of Central America, acting under the umbrella of the Central American
Ombudsmen’s Council (Consejo Centroamericano de Procuradores de Derechos Humanos —
CCPDH) wholeheartedly support ratification of the OPCAT by their governments. This
commitment was formally voiced in September 2005, when the CCPDH issued a declaration in
which all of its member institutions vowed to promote the Optional Protocol at the national
level.
Conclusion
During the November 2004 session of the Committee against Torture, Argentina publicly
announced its ratification of the OPCAT. The gesture was positively interpreted by the Committee
as palpable evidence of Argentina’s commitment to the prevention and eradication of torture.
The APT likes to think that other countries could take the same courageous step forward in the
near future.
In the framework of this global campaign, the APT has identified a number of countries as
possible “early ratifyers” of the OPCAT, where the political will to reform the penitentiary
system already exists, or where structures and practices for the prevention of torture are already
in place. Within the Americas, it has to be said that the campaign has made remarkable progress.
On May 23, 2006, Honduras and Bolivia ratified the OPCAT. This means we now have the 20
required State Parties; seven (Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Honduras,
Bolivia) are from the region, while others have signed the OPCAT and progressed a great deal
towards ratification. Therefore the OPCAT has entered into force on June 23, 2006.
Philippe Tremblay
OPCAT Campaign
Coordinator
Geneva, Switzerland
Footnotes:
1
One hundred-and-twenty-seven voted in favor, forty-two abstained and only four states voted against the OPCAT. At the
regional level, 35 countries supported the OPCAT, seven countries abstained — Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Grenada, Guyana,
Jamaica and Saint Lucia— and only the United States opposed it.
2
<www.apt.ch>
3
<www.cinat.org> The CINAT also includes Amnesty International, the World Organization against Torture (OMCT), the International
Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FiACAT), the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the
International Centre for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (IRCT) and the Redress Trust.
4
See for example the recommendations made to Canada (CAT/C/CR/34/CAN), 5(j), 7 July 2005 and Ecuador (CAT/C7ECU/
CO/3), pt 29 (8 February 2006).
5
UN Doc. CCPR/C/82/L/MAR (2004).
6
UN Doc. CCPR/CO/80/UGA, 4 May 2004, paragraph 17.
7
Argentina (2004), Honduras and Guatemala (2004).

5

6

Antigua and Barbuda
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. There is a public defender system of providing counsel to indigent defendants, but
only for capital cases, and not for others. All defendants have the right to a defender but at their
own expense, or they may represent themselves in court.
Juveniles. The Juvenile Act of 1951, currently good law, defines a juvenile as a person under
the age of 16 years. Section 3 of the Juvenile Act also states that no person under the age of
8 years shall be guilty of an offence. Thus, the minimum age for criminal responsibility of a
child is 8 years.
Section 15 of the Juvenile Act states that the Commissioner of Police should keep juveniles
separate from adults if they are being detained in a police station, or being conveyed to or from
a criminal court. According to the U.S. Department of State, and its Country Report on Human
Rights Practices, juveniles are housed separately from adult inmates. There are separate prisons
for juveniles. Thirty juveniles are set up for rehabilitation in The Boys’ Training School, which
is a Borstal-type institution that was established under the Training Schools Act of 1891. It
serves as a rehabilitation centre for boys who come in conflict with the law.
Death Penalty. The death sentence is still enforced in Antigua and Barbuda for two criminal
offences - murder and treason. Section 3 of the Offences Against the Person Act, Cap. 58,
states that “whosoever is convicted of murder shall suffer death as a felon”. No person under
the age of 18 years can be sentenced to death for any crime. Since the law does not stipulate
sentence length for murder, it can be inferred that it is possible for a sentence of life imprisonment
to be imposed on someone who is under 18 years of age. There are 8 sentenced to death, but
there have been no executions since 1991. They do have sentences of life without possibility of
parole.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. The country does not have separate federal (national) and state prison systems.
There is only one facility, Her Majesty’s Prison. Pre-trial detainees are held separately from
convicted prisoners. There were 52 pre-trial prisoners and 186 sentenced prisoners in 2004.
28.3% of the prison population is pre-trial detainees.
In May, 42 persons were reportedly being held on remand. According to the prison
superintendent, a shortage of space in the prison required placing some of those held on remand
with convicted prisoners.
Standards. There are statutory, written prison standards, which are enforced by the police.
According to the U.S. Department of State’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices, the
prison conditions are poor. Prison services were inadequate, particularly recreation and
rehabilitation facilities. The prison did not have toilet facilities, and slop pails were used in
7

122 cells.1 Prison staff complained anonymously to the press about the poor conditions, including
a reported increase in the number of prisoners who had HIV/AIDS and charges that certain
inmates were made into “sex slaves” by other prisoners.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Prisoner Abuse. They do prohibit corporal punishment, torture, dark cells, or any other
cruel, unusual or degrading treatment. It is prohibited by the Antigua and Barbuda Constitution
of 1981, and the authorities generally respected these prohibitions in practice. However, there
were occasional reports of police brutality and threatening behavior and allegations of abuse
by prison guards.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Rehabilitation Programs. In Oct. 2003, ministers of the justice met with other ministers of
the Americas and the U.S. to discuss the problems of rehabilitation and how to fix it. The topic
of the meeting was how to “resocialize” prisoners before letting them back into society.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Pre-trial unsentenced prisoners have the right to vote, but once they have been convicted
and sentenced, the right is taken away.
SOURCES:
<http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41745.htm> Website of U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices (2004).
<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/worldbrief/caribbean_records.php?code=57> From the International Centre
for Prison Studies.
<http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/wha/8274.htm> Website of U.S. Department of State: on Antigua and
Barbuda, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 4, 2002.
<http://www.driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=11604> Driver Heaven list of countries that still allow death penalty.
<http://hrw.org/reports/2005/us1005/9.htm> Human Rights Watch, Just Sentences for Youth: International Human
Rights Law.
<http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba/Constitutions/Antigua/antigua-barbuda.html> Antigua Constitution, which
explains the rights of the convicted.
<http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR580022000?open&of=ENGATG>
<http://www.amnesty.org.uk/deliver/keyword/2006.html- death penalty>
<http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/protocol/sigop.htm.> OPCAT question.
Committee on the Rights of the Child –Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the
Convention-Initial reports of States parties due in 1995-Antigua and Barbuda- [4 February 2003].

8

Article 2. All Persons are equal before the law and have the rights
and duties established in this Declaration, without distinction as to
race, sex, language, creed or any other factor.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

9

Argentina

_.

......

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Argentina has a public defender system which
provides counsel to indigent defendants. The national
constitution indicates the obligation of the state to provide
official counseling as soon as a person is involved in a criminal
investigation and until the end of the process.
Juveniles. Young people 18 years of age are considered adults
for the purposes of the criminal justice system. Juveniles are
kept separately from adults in prisons. There are separate prisons
for juveniles.
Death Penalty. They do not have a death penalty. Almost all sentences have the possibility of
parole, but there is no chance of parole for re-offenders.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. The country does have separate federal (national) and state prison systems. In the
federal system there are 32 prisons. In spite of the fact that they were originally designated as
either pre-trial prisons or sentenced prisons, the truth is that actually prisoners are mixed up.
Most incarcerated people have no final sentence (after all appeals).
Standards. Basically, Argentina has a very advanced set of laws on the formal level. On the
de facto level almost none of them are enforced.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. All prisoners receive instructions on what is expected of them and are told what
the rules are. The guards enforce the rules by prisoner mistreatment. There are really no channels
for prisoners to communicate to outside officials.
Prisoner Abuse. On the official government level they do not allow corporal punishment, but
on the unofficial level it is still a common practice.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. There is no healthcare that takes care of minor problems, but there is one that
takes care of major life threatening situations.
Rehabilitation Programs. The prisons do have work and recreation programs. There is
little assistance given to the prisoners to help them rehabilitate themselves, such as educational
programs.
10

Reentry Programs. Programs for pre-release or re-entry assistance for prisoners do exist in
theory; though usually not in practice.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Pre-trial and sentenced prisoners do not have the right to vote in either the federal
system or in the local systems.
Visitation. The families can visit but must provide their own transportation to and from the
prison.

Article 5. Every person has the right to the protection of the law
against abusive attacks upon his honor, his reputation, and his
private and family life.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

11

Bahamas
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Arrested persons may hire an attorney of their
choice, but the government only provides legal
representation to destitute suspects charged with capital
crimes. In a 2003 report, Amnesty International estimated
QoIllOlill d
that 41 percent of inmates did not have legal representation
at their trial. Local legal professionals and human rights
observers believed that this lack of representation risks
hasty convictions on the basis of unchallenged evidence, particularly in the case of poor or
illiterate defendants. (U.S. State Department)

·

Juveniles. There are many detained youth. The maximum-security building at Fox Hill has a
separate section for juvenile offenders between the ages of 16 and 18. According to the US
State Dept., there was also occasional mixing of juveniles with adult inmates depending upon
the severity of their crimes. Offenders younger than 16, along with children made wards of the
court by their parents because of “uncontrollable behavior,” were held at the Simpson Penn
Center for Boys and the Williamae Pratt Center for Girls.
Death Penalty. Bahamas has a death penalty. According to the Amnesty International Report
2006, sixteen people have been executed in the Bahamas since 1973. The last execution in the
Bahamas took place in January 2000. Also, they reported that twenty five prisoners remained
on death row at the end of 2000. Bahamas practiced mandatory sentences for convicted murders.
However, on 8th of March 2006, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Court (JCPC), the highest
court of appeal for countries in the English-speaking Caribbean region, abolished the mandatory
death sentence. They ruled that the mandatory death sentence is in violation of the Bahamian
Constitution.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. In Bahamas there is only one prison, called Her Majesty’s Prison Fox Hill, which
consists of a large maximum-security unit (holding 700 people), a “remand” (pretrial) facility,
and medium minimum security facilities. Fox Hill includes pretrial and sentenced prisoners.
Due to overcrowding in the remand facility, many pretrial detainees are mixed with convicted
prisoners. However, in 2005, according to the 2006 U.S. State Dept. report, “new prisoners
were no longer automatically placed in maximum security, but were processed through an
intake center and assigned cells based upon an analysis of risk factors and space availability.”
Again according to the U.S. State Department, attorneys and other prisoner advocates continued
to complain of excessive pretrial detention. The constitution mandates that suspects can be
held for a “reasonable period of time” before trial. Suspects commonly were held two to four
years before they received a trial. In October a government report stated that 645 of the 1500
prisoners at Fox Hill were awaiting trial. Prison officials estimated that approximately 100
pretrial prisoners had been on remand for over 2 years.
In addition to the Fox Hill prison, the Carmichael Road Immigrant Detention Center holds up
to 500 detainees (with tent space for an additional 500), and women and men were housed
12

separately. Haitians and Cubans were the most commonly interdicted migrants. The highest
occupancy during the year was approximately 700, with an additional 250 at a temporary holding
facility on the island of Great Inagua. Detainees complained that non-English speaking migrants
were sometimes unable to communicate with guards regarding basic needs and detention center
rules. Detainees also continued to complain of abuse by guards. Human rights groups expressed
concern that complaint investigations were handled internally without independent review and
oversight.
Standards. There are no statutory standards, but the government has been engaged in a highprofile effort to improve conditions at Fox Hill, after several reported deaths and other problems.
The government appointed the chairman of the Prison Reform Commission as prison
superintendent. There were improvements in prisoner intake, cell assignments, and educational
opportunities for prisoners. Inmates reported continued improvement in food service operations
due to a professional staff overseeing the inmate cooking staff; however, some unsanitary
conditions in food preparation remained.
BEHAVIOR and PROTECTION of INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. It is unclear whether prisoners can make complaints to the prison authorities,
although there are references to “complaints from prisoners” from human rights investigators.
Prisoner Abuse. The law prohibits torture, but according to Amnesty International (2003),
human rights monitors and members of the public expressed concern over continued instances
of police abuse of criminal suspects. Police officials, while denying systematic or chronic
abuses, acknowledged that police on occasion abused their authority.
Amnesty reports that corporal punishment is a lawful sentence for males in Bahamas. The
punishment may be imposed by the courts following conviction for a wide range of criminal
offences. The Criminal Law (Measures) Act 1991 provides that any male convicted of certain
offences may be ordered by the courts to undergo corporal punishment in addition to any other
punishment for various offenses. The offenses are causing wound, garroting, rape, robbery
armed with an offensive weapon, stealing in certain cases on second or subsequent conviction,
housebreaking and burglary. Amnesty International reports that an adult male may be flogged
with a maximum of 24 strokes of the cat or rod or by up to 12 strokes of whipping. Male
children may be whipped with a light cane but not flogged.
According to the U.S. State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, it is
reported the police occasionally beat and abuse suspects and prisoners. A recent (January
2006) report indicates that a prisoner was beaten to death by a guard in 2000, in a highlypublicized case.
Amnesty International reports that in the maximum security, cells had no natural light and
prisoners were in near darkness- the only light source coming from small windows on the
corridors opposite the cells. According to the UNHCR, most prisoners lacked beds, slept on
concrete floors, and were locked in small cells 23 hours per day, often with human waste.
Maximum-security inmates were allowed outside for exercise four days a week for one hour
per day. Inmates complained of inadequate medical care and treatment.
As part of prison reform efforts, the prison adopted new use-of-force guidelines to address
past concerns over prisoner treatment. Prison officials also established an internal affairs unit
to investigate complaints against guards. According to prison officials, there were no allegations
13

of abuse by prison guards during the year. Organizations providing aid, counseling services,
and religious instruction had regular access to inmates. In response to past concerns regarding
prisoner abuse, prison officials adopted a policy on use of force, increased guard training, and
used the new internal affairs unit to address complaints.
SERVICES for INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Amnesty International is concerned about the medical care for prisoners in the
Bahamas. It says that the prisons fail to provide adequate medical care, and high rates of
infectious diseases and other illnesses have been rising for many years. Also, it reports that
prisoners suffering from AIDS, HIV or TB do not receive adequate medical care or drugs.
Officially, 8 percent of the prison population has AIDS; Amnesty International reported in
2003 that the rate was likely closer to 20 percent.
Prisoners claim that it is impossible to see a doctor between 2 to 5 days after they request to the
prison officers to see a doctor. A 2001 review of prison health care concluded that serious
overcrowding increased health risks. It states that basic hygiene problems exist because of
lack of running water and light, inadequate health care equipment, medication, and medical
personnel, and under-utilization of recently constructed medical facilities.
Rehabilitation Programs. According to the Prison Reform Commission Report 2003, only
10% of prisoners were estimated to be in employment by the prison administration including
approximately 40% of sentenced prisoners. Amnesty International reports that untried prisoners
do not work and have no opportunity to work in the Bahamas. Some female prisoners claimed
that they were given no opportunity to participate in work, educational or vocational programs.
Amnesty International says that overall the provision of exercise facilities to the inmate falls
below that required by international standards. It says that female inmates claimed that they
were provided with no exercise at all. It reports that prisoners in maximum, medium and minimum
security normally were allowed to exercise outdoors for approximately one hour each day on
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays. Amnesty International is concerned that the lack of
exercise is particularly objectionable given that a high proportion of prisoners have no or few
opportunities to engage in positive activities and mobility outside their cells.
Reentry Programs. The government significantly increased funding for improvements in
prison facilities and prisoner rehabilitation programs. Prison officials continued to improve
technical and vocational programs, opening the programs to women and increasing course
offerings. Approximately 500 of the 900 eligible prisoners participated in training and work
release programs.
RIGHTS of INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. According to Department of Political Science at Northwestern University, in Bahamas
prisoners (1280) do not have the right to vote. However, there are no restrictions on voting
rights after release.
Visitation. Amnesty reports that the Prison Rules permit visits every month for untried prisoners
or every two months for convicted prisoners. However, in practice Amnesty International tells
that this right is not consistently implemented. It says that prisoners in maximum security told
Amnesty International that visitation privileges could be taken away for infringements of the
prison rules. Amnesty International reports that despite the Prison Rules, which state that visits
14

shall last two hours, they typically last only half an hour. According to Amnesty International,
inmates are allowed only non-contact visitation.
SOURCES:
<http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.html?tbl=RSDCOI&id=441821a938>
<http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/62fbf95d161f651080256a4e00585a5b/
7eb8b1ee51a3331e80256a48004ab732/$FILE/bahamas.pdf>
<http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGAMR140012006>
<http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR140042003>
<http://web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/report2003/bhs-summary-eng/$FILE/bahamas.pdf>
<http://t2web.amnesty.r3h.net/library/pdf/AMR140052003ENGLISH/$File/AMR1400503.pdf>
<http://www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/Rottinghaus.pdf>

Article 7.5 Any persons detained shall be brought promptly before a judge
or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall
be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to be released without
prejudice to the continuation of the proceedings. His release may be
subject to guarantees to assure his appearance for trial.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

15

Barbados
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Barbados provides free legal counsel to indigent
defendants in very serious criminal cases, such as rape and murder.1
The law permits detainees to be held without charge for up to one week; however, once charged,
detainees must be brought before a court without unnecessary delay. There is a functioning bail
system. Criminal detainees were given prompt access to counsel and were advised of that right
immediately after arrest. Although access to family members generally was permitted, several
families complained that they did not receive regular access in the weeks immediately following
the prison fire (see Structure below).
Juveniles. Available information suggests 18 as the normal minimum age for the adult justice
system, although in exceptional cases persons as young as 16 could be included.2
Death Penalty. Based on press reports citing actual death sentences and 4-6 persons currently
under sentence of death (mid 2006), Barbados does have a death penalty for persons whose
crimes were committed at age 18 or older, although no executions have apparently occurred
since 1984.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. Glendairy Prison, the nation’s sole prison, was a 150-year-old structure designed
to hold 350 prisoners that routinely held more than a thousand prisoners. In March, 2005,
prisoners rioted and set fire to the prison, causing such severe damage that the government
decided to abandon it permanently. All prisoners were moved to a temporary prison constructed
at Harrison Point until a permanent prison could be built. Conditions at the temporary prison
were inadequate. The temporary prison is an improvement over the former prison, with several
buildings spread over 65 acres, compared with the 39-acre Glendairy. The temporary prison
also had separate facilities for persons on remand awaiting trail as well as for female prisoners.
In September the government announced that construction had begun on a new permanent
prison. The Harrison Point facility held approximately 900 prisoners; the new facility, which
will have a capacity of 1,200 prisoners, is due to be completed by January 2007.
However, of the roughly 1000 inmates in Barbados combined jail and prison system, nearly
one-fourth (23%) are pretrial detainees.3
Standards. In May the press reported complaints by prisoners and their families about
inadequate conditions at the temporary prison, including unsanitary cells, inedible food, and
unclean drinking water.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Prisoner Abuse. Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment
are specifically prohibited by law, but there were reports that police sometimes used excessive
force. The majority of complaints against the police alleged unprofessional conduct and beating
or assault. Police regularly were accused of beating suspects to obtain confessions, and suspects
16

often recanted their confessions during their trial. There were numerous cases where the only
evidence against the accused was a confession.4
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Family members complained that prison authorities had failed to inform them in
a timely manner when prisoners had serious health problems that resulted in their being taken
to the hospital.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Barbados is not in the Rottinghaus list of countries that permit its prisoners (estimated
at 850 in 2003) to vote.5
Visitation. The State Department and other news reports cite denial of visiting both for legal
counsel and for family in the aftermath of the Glendairy prison fire and relocation of inmates to
temporary facilities. Subsequently, family members further complained that they were denied
the opportunity to visit their relatives in prison. While the government normally permitted
prison visits by independent human rights monitors, no such visits were known to have taken
place during the year at the Harrison Point facility.
SOURCES:
1
<www.state.gov/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41748.htm> U.S. State Department.
2
<http://www/phaseloop.com/foreignprisoners/news-barbados03.htmlForeign Prisoner Support Service.
3
Kings College, International Centre on Prison Studies, Prison Brief for Barbados, as of March 2005.
4
<http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61715.htm> U.S. Dept. of State, Country Reports on Human Rights.
5
<www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf>

Article 6. Every person has the right to establish a family, the basic
element of society, and to receive protection therefore.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

17

Belize
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. The counsel for indigent people is provided by the state for
those with capital crimes. In 1999 the government provided a public
prosecutor, but the state department is constrained by a severe lack of
trained personnel, public defenders and police officers.
Detainees usually were granted timely access to family members and lawyers, although there
were occasional complaints that inmates were denied access or a phone call after arrest. Bail
was available for all cases except killing and generally was granted. In cases involving narcotics,
the law does not permit police to grant bail, but a magistrate’s court may do so after a full
hearing. Detainees sometimes could not afford bail; backlogs in the docket often caused
considerable delays and postponement of hearings, resulting in an overcrowded prison and at
times prolonged pretrial detention. By year’s end approximately 23 percent of the prison
population was in pretrial detention.
Juveniles. 18 is the age considered for a offender to be considered an adult. The minors are
housed in the boot camp. Currently there are young male offenders between the ages of 14-31
living in the same area, and most of the older men are there as protectors. However, there are
several other men over the age of 18 housed there, simply because there is nowhere else to put
them. The boot camp is in close proximity to higher security areas.
The government does not incarcerate female juveniles charged or convicted of crimes, but
rather places them in the care of the government social services authorities. During the year
there were no female juveniles in the custody of the social services authorities. Juvenile male
prisoners lived in a separate, newly built facility outside the main perimeter fence.
Death Penalty. Belize has the death penalty, and nine persons are on death row. Also, people
can be sentenced to life without parole for capital offenses.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. The nation of Belize has one correctional facility in the entire nation by the name
of Hattieville prison, aside from a small number of detainees held in temporary cells at police
stations. All prisoners are kept in the same facility, although there are different categories
ranging from boot camp to maximum security. The death row inmates as well as the boot camp
inmates live in the same facility. People with non-criminal convictions stay in the same facilities.
There is no classification of people by class of offense. People are simply put wherever there is
adequate room. The prison, in Hattieville, which was designed for 1,200 inmates, held
approximately 1,300 adult male inmates, 28 female inmates, and 54 youth male inmates. In the
remands section of the prison, 301 detainees shared forty 15x20 foot cells that were designed
to hold 150 persons. The majority of prison accommodations do not have showers or toilets.
The prison includes a separate facility for women, located about 200 yards outside the main
compound. Conditions in the women’s facility are significantly better than those in the much
larger men’s compound. The 30 women held there occupied 17 cells; each inmate has her own
bed. The facility is clean, and inmates have access to limited educational classes and vocational
classes in cosmetology.
18

The Youth Enhancement Agency (YEA) houses over 60 youths between the ages of 13 and 25,
who participate in rehabilitation and job training programs.
Standards. According to the Prison Rules Act and the Belize Constitution there are sanitary
conditions that should be met. However, following the survey of HRBC, many sanitary conditions
were found to be poor. The health conditions are seriously compromised by the lack of sanitary
installations. For example a bucket serves as a commode and up to seven inmates use that onebucket, which is a breeding ground for many infectious diseases. In addition, there is a lack of
proper medical care for inmates.
The situation in Hattieville is very bleak as that facility is under funded, severely overcrowded,
the staff is completely under trained, and the inmates are treated very poorly. Inmates often
report being treated badly, and a lack of food. They must have some outside income in order to
maintain the most simple necessities such as a mattress, a pillow, a chair etc.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Hattieville does require inmates to behave in a certain matter. For improper
conduct, the prisoner is to be temporarily confined in a special cell, the “punishment cell.” The
officer on duty is responsible for defining what is disorderly conduct, and most of these officers
are under trained. The punishment cell is 8 by 10 with no window and at the time of inspection
there were five males in the punishment cell.
Prisoner Abuse. There are clear violations of accepted international standards, such as the
use of corporal punishment, placing as many as five individuals in a room with no lighting, not
allowing the prisoners to bathe, and at times using unnecessary force.
During the year there were reports that prison authorities brutalized troublesome prisoners,
including placing inmates in a small, unlit, and unventilated punishment cells called “supermax.”
Inmates claimed that prison officials sometimes withheld food and water as further punishment,
conducted strip searches and beatings, and extorted money for transfers to better conditions.
The Kolbe Foundation investigated reports of abuse or excessive force by prison officials. On
May 9, the Kolbe Foundation, by means of an internal tribunal, dismissed three senior prison
officers, including the chief of security, for alleged brutality and bribery. Matters of inmate-oninmate abuse were directly turned over to police. Prisoners convicted or accused of certain
serious crimes such as child molestation often were held in the remands section of the Hattieville
prison for their protection.
Principal human rights abuses include occasional brutality and use of excessive force by the
police when making arrests, poor prison conditions, allegations of arbitrary arrest and detention,
lengthy pretrial detention, political influence on the judiciary, and judicial limits on freedom of
the press.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. In cases of extreme illness or serious injury, inmates are taken to the hospital in
Belize City. However the inmates do not always receive the necessary medical attention,
especially if an injury was caused by an officer’s abuse. Paramedics are available in the facility,
but once again there is lack of adequate medical personnel, medication for the prisoners, and
hardly any medical equipment.
19

The sewage systems seemed to back up and be clogged, leading to many health hazards. There
was a lack of lighting and ventilation in many of the cells.
Rehabilitation Programs. As far as education goes, there is no library, just a handful of
books shelved in the men’s facility. Hattieville has developed a five step rehabilitative and
educational program that is available to all inmates who have two years or less in their sentences.
This program includes a life skills training program, as well as agriculture classes, computer
programming classes and parenting skills classes. Inmates are allowed to work inside the facility;
their jobs include carpentry, trade linen, kitchen duty and custodial work. The institution receives
69% of their pay and the inmate receives the rest.
During the year the Kolbe Foundation’s efforts focused on rehabilitation, resulting in
improvements in the prison system in the following areas: enhanced work-release opportunities;
jobs skills training, including the establishment of a wood furniture and crafts workshop; a
financial savings program for prisoners; and enhanced internal security that included supervised
prisoners’ access to cell phones for prisoners to report alleged abuses by guards. The
government’s Women’s Department provided counseling and educational services for female
inmates. By year’s end the prison’s youth facility had retained four full-time teachers and one
full-time counselor.
Increasingly, youthful offenders are transferred from the main prison to the YEA youth facilities.
Prison authorities provided training for inmates in basic skills trades such as carpentry and
construction. During the year, the prison joined with the Fisheries Department to teach
aquaculture to inmates. In addition to providing food and income for the prison, prison officials
hope to train inmates for eventual work. A job-training program at a citrus farm employs 44
inmates.
Reentry Programs. Hattieville has a program for those who are being released on parole
which includes job training, ethics, parole preparation, victims awareness and a re-entry program.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. According to Rottinghaus, Belize does not allow its prisoners to vote if their sentences
exceed one year.1
Visitation. The government permitted prison visits by independent human rights observers,
and such visits took place during the year.
SOURCES:
www.humanrightsstudies.org.bz/docs/PRISONHattievillePrisonerHRCBAugust2002.doc
1
www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf

20

Article 9. No one shall be convicted of any act or omission that did not
constitute a criminal offense, under the applicable law, at the time it was
committed. A heavier penalty shall not be imposed than the one that was
applicable at the time the criminal offense was committed. If subsequent to
the commission of the offense, the law provides for the imposition of a
lighter punishment, the guilty person shall benefit therefrom.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969

21

Bolivia

... '"......

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. The National Public Defense Service was begun in 1992. However, the number of
drug-related arrests far surpasses the limited number that the public defenders can handle,
especially in rural areas. Also, the treatment of detainees by the Bolivian judicial system is
determined by their economic status. Nothing happens unless the prisoner has money. Prisoners
were allowed access to a lawyer, but approximately 70 percent could not afford legal counsel,
and public defenders were overburdened.
Juveniles. Juvenile detainees 16 to 21 years of age are not segregated from adults in prisons.
Abuse of juveniles in prison is common. The 706 convicted juvenile (16 to 21 years old)
prisoners were not segregated from adult prisoners in jails, and adult inmates sometimes abused
them. Rehabilitation programs for juveniles or other prisoners were scarce to nonexistent. Pretrial
detainees were held with convicted prisoners.
Children from 11 to 16 years of age may be detained indefinitely in children’s centers for
known or suspected offenses, or for their protection, on the orders of a social worker. There is
no judicial review of such orders.
Death Penalty. The Bolivian Constitution, Article 17, bars the death penalty. Under Article
17, the penalty for murder, patricide, and treason is a 30-year jail term. The last execution in
Bolivia was in 1974.
Although there may be no sentence of Life Without Parole, the possibility that the accused
without money may receive excessive prison sentences is a real concern. The crime of drug
trafficking, for example is punishable by a 25-year maximum sentence plus días multa. Días
multa that is a fine, which if unpaid, means 20,000 more days of imprisonment or 54 additional
years. The sad result often turns out to be a sentence of Life ... without parole.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. Prisons in Bolivia are under the direction of the Ministry of Interior and Police.
The prison administration is titled Dirección Nacional de Régimen Penitenciario y Supervisión.
The total prison population was 7,710 in November of 2005. Of this number, 75% were pretrial prisoners, who were kept in the same prisons as those sentenced. 7% were women. 4.3%
were juveniles and 3.3% were foreigners. There are at least two women’s prisons. Hundreds of
children live with their parents in prison as the government considers it more humane to support
them there rather than to leave them homeless. Although only children up to 6 years old are
supposed to live with an incarcerated parent, children as old as age 12 live with their fathers in
San Pedro prison. Prison conditions are extremely primitive.
Standards. The National Police have primary responsibility for internal security, but military
forces are called upon in critical situations. Prison conditions are harsh. Prisons are overcrowded
22

and in poor condition. Overpopulated jails included: San Pedro in La Paz by 397 percent,
Mocovi by 345 percent, and the women’s jail in La Paz by 300 percent. With the exception of
the maximum-security prison of Chonchocoro in El Alto, government authorities effectively
controlled only the outer security perimeter of each prison. Inside prison walls, prisoners usually
maintained control, and criminal gangs operated from their cells without hindrance.
A prisoner’s wealth may determine cell size, visiting privileges, day-pass eligibility, and place
or length of confinement. Fees reportedly were paid to prior cell occupants or to prisoners who
controlled cellblocks. Although the law permits children up to 6 years old to live with an
incarcerated parent, children as old as 12 lived with their parents in prisons. There were
approximately 730 children living with a parent in prison, as an alternative to being left homeless.
The standard prison diet was insufficient, and prisoners who could afford to do so supplemented
the standard prison diet by buying food.
There are separate prisons for women, except for Morros Blancos prison in Tarija, where both
men and women were incarcerated. Conditions for female inmates were similar to those for
men; however, overcrowding at the San Sebastian women’s prison in Cochabamba was worse
than in most prisons for men.
The CCP also recognizes the conflict resolution (community justice) traditions of indigenous
communities, provided that the resolution does not conflict with the rights and guarantees
established under the constitution.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Prison rules originate from the CCP — Code of Criminal Procedure. Enforcement
is a serious problem because the prisoners are usually in control. As an example of policy
failure, the CCP provides that a detainee cannot be held for longer than 18 months awaiting
trial. This policy has not been respected in practice due to judicial corruption, a shortage of
public defenders, and complex criminal justice procedures.
Prisoner Abuse. Prison officials effectively control only the outer security perimeter of each
prison. Inside, prisoners maintain control and criminal gangs operate from their cells without
hindrance. Violence between prisoners, and sometimes involving officials, are problems.
Corruption is a problem among guards and wardens.
Violence between prisoners and, in some cases, the involvement of prison officials in violence
against prisoners were problems. In October more than 200 prisoners in the Cantumarca prison
in Potosi rioted after guards beat a prisoner. Corruption was a problem among low-ranking and
poorly paid guards and prison wardens. The number of persons held in detention centers, intended
to hold persons prior to the completion of their trials and sentencing, significantly decreased
due to the new Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) but was still a problem due to judiciary
strikes and a general increase in crime.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. A major problem, in addition to insufficient food and overcrowding, is the lack
of medical services. To begin with, there is a lack of sanitation and hygienic facilities. Another
big health problem is drug and alcohol abuse. Prisoners with money can get permission for
outside medical treatment.
23

The law provides that prisoners have access to medical assistance, but there was no adequate
health care within the prisons, and it was difficult for prisoners to get permission for outside
medical treatment. Of the country’s 14 jails, 5 did not have doctors or provide medical assistance.
Several illnesses were registered in the jails such as tuberculosis and HIV. The government
was unaware of the number of ill prisoners. However, affluent prisoners could obtain transfers
to preferred prisons or even to outside private institutional care for “medical” reasons. Inmates
who could pay had access to drugs and alcohol.
Rehabilitation Programs. Reports agree that rehabilitation programs—work, education,
and recreation—are scarce to nonexistent. The government is aware of the need for such
programs, but does not budget sufficient resources to provide them.
Reentry Programs. No information was found about a formal pre-release or re-entry
assistance program.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Bolivia is not in the Rottinghaus list of countries that permit its prisoners to vote.1
Visitation. A prisoner’s wealth determines his/her visiting privileges, as well as cell size, daypass eligibility, and place or length of confinement. The government permitted prison visits by
independent human rights observers, judges, and media representatives, and such visits took
place during the year.
SOURCES:
1
www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf

Article 7. All women, during pregnancy and the nursing period, and all
children have the right to special protection, care and aid.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

24

.-.

Brazil
CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Indigents. The federal justice system has a public defender’s office. As for the state level
(where most defendants answer for their crimes), every state but one has currently passed a law
to implement a public defender’s office. In the state of São Paulo, this just became law at the
end of 2005, so it is clearly still in process.
Legal assistance is available for all who cannot pay for a lawyer. In criminal cases, the lawyer
only steps in at the moment of the first hearing (and this is only since 2003; before 2003, the
lawyer often was assigned after the first hearing). Generally, the only contact the prisoner has
with his/her lawyer is at the hearing; there is no contact otherwise. Although the Public
Defender’s office is new in many states, there was previously a contract between the state and
the Procuradoria Geral to provide free defense for those who needed it. Because the lawyer
has limited contact with his/her client, he/she generally does the minimum necessary to defend
the client — a formal defense, without going after every resource available.
Juveniles. Young people cannot be tried in the adult system until the age of 18. Adolescents
are kept separate from adults. The system that administers the program for adolescent offenders
is run by an entirely different administration.
Death Penalty. There is no death penalty in Brazil. The sentence of life without parole does
not exist in Brazilian law. There are situations where a sentence could be considered a life
sentence, however. No one is required to complete more than 30 years in prison (at one time)
— even if his/her sentence is 100 years, he/she is released after 30 years. It is only life without
parole if a person happens to be older when arrested; for instance, if he is already 55 or 60
years old when sentenced and must serve the maximum of 30 years.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. Brazil does not have a federal prison system. All prisons are run by the different
states in the country – so there are 27 prison systems. Federal prisoners are kept in these state
prisons, and the state courts are responsible for carrying out the sentences.
Brazil is currently in the process of building 5 federal prisons, but they are not specifically for
offenders convicted of federal crimes. Instead, they will be used as extra-maximum security
for highly dangerous inmates — dangerous either because of their connection to drug-trafficking
and organized crime or because of repeated participation in prison riots, etc.
According to the Ministry of Justice’s National Prison Department (Departamento Penitenciário
Nacional or DEPEN), there were 361,402 people deprived of their liberty in December, 2005
(including 7873 people who actually are in an “open regime” meaning that they might be at
home, reporting regularly to the judge) – between the state prison system and the state jail
25

system. Among these, 20,264 were women. Thus women make up about 5.6% of the total
prison population. It is important to note that the Ministry of Justice compiles these statistics
through the reporting of each state. So, if a state reports inaccurate data, the Ministry of Justice’s
data will reflect this inaccuracy.
By law, sentenced and non-sentenced inmates should be kept in separate facilities. However,
the government reports a deficit of over 100,000 spaces for inmates (due to overpopulation),
and therefore, many inmates complete their sentences in simple jail facilities with no access to
health care, state lawyers, social workers, etc. In 2003, an estimated 25% of sentenced prisoners
were being held in police lock-ups which is illegal. Brazilian law restricts use of lock-ups to
holding prisoners while they are giving testimony, being screened, and having their fingerprints
taken. Some states have more than 50% of their prisoners held by the police – 80% in the state
of Minas Gerais.
Standards. There is one single Penal Law for the whole country and one Penal Execution
Law which states very clearly how prisons should be run, what the rights and duties of the
prisoners are, and which are the institutions that have responsibility for various aspects of the
prison system. At this point, only three or so states actually have state prison laws. São Paulo,
for instance, has administrative norms that regulate prison units. Thus, it is the executive branch
of the government that decides these norms.
Unfortunately, the Constitution, the Penal Execution Law, and all international treaties dealing
with the rights of prisoners are systematically ignored. Brazilian prisons, as a rule, are inhumane
and degrading. High levels of overcrowding, violence, and corruption are widespread.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. The Federal Law for Penal Execution defines not only the norms and regulations
for the prison system, but also the rights and responsibilities for inmates. There are disciplinary
norms. These are often not written but are verbal, thus making uniformity in the application of
disciplinary sanctions almost impossible. Each prison unit has their rules (within legal limits).
The State systems generally have a type of Ombudsman and a department and/or judge that
investigate any accusation or allegation of abuse of inmates, as well as accompanying prison
riots. Unfortunately, because of the cumbersome structure of the state, responses are often
inadequate and/or very delayed.
Prisoner Abuse. Corporal punishment, torture, dark cells, or any other cruel, unusual or
degrading treatment are prohibited by law, and can be reported to the department that investigates
any type of abuse by police or prison officials. Unfortunately, abuses are far from infrequent!
Human rights organizations are consistently receiving letters and complaints about torture and
other abuses.
From the moment of arrest until their release from prison, Brazilian inmates face chronic and
sometimes extreme official violence. In the immediate aftermath of prison riots, in particular,
inmates frequently suffer appalling physical abuse. Poorly remunerated and lacking appropriate
training, prison guards are often quick to resort to physical beatings in lieu of the authorized
punishments listed in the national prison law.
What most encourages these acts of violence is the persistent impunity that prevails for officials
guilty of them. At every stage of the criminal process – from investigation to prosecution to
26

judgment to appeal – the scales are heavily weighted in favor of the perpetrator of abuse.
Indeed, very few incidents of physical abuse of prisoners, including even the most egregious
cases of torture, are ever investigated. The unpopularity and political powerlessness of the
inmate population means that few people care if abuses against prisoners go unpunished.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. The prisons do not provide adequate health care for prisoners. Some prisons
have no doctors; some do not have enough doctors and/or nurses. Some doctors rarely show up
to work. (For example, one prison had a doctor contracted to work 20 hours a week, and even
the staff said that if he showed up an hour a day it was a good day!) Prenatal care is almost
nonexistent. Treatment is delayed; there’s always a shortage of medicine. A campaign has been
started for the prisoners to receive the vaccinations that are given free to the general public.
The federal government is trying to set up agreements with the states to release money for
health services.
Any medical appointment outside of the prison facility must be scheduled far in advance.
Then there must be transportation available on the day of the appointment, as well as the police
to provide escort to the hospital. Sometimes the pieces all come together, but they arrive late at
the hospital and the appointment is canceled. Sometimes the inmates complain that they are
actually picked up for their appointment, driven around for a few hours and taken back without
ever having left the prison vehicle, much less having seen a doctor.
It is often said that what most often motivates prison riots is a lack of adequate health care and
lack of adequate legal assistance.
Rehabilitation Programs. Some prisons do have work, education and recreation programs,
but public jails (which house almost 70,000 of the total prison population) rarely have any
services beyond detention. They do not have courses or education (nor do they have space for
it). They also lack recreation programs or any type of social or psychological outlet. There are
jails with some work opportunities, or with some kind of provision for the inmates to crochet
or do art/craft type work that they can then sell through their families later.
The prison system now operates some pretrial detention facilities. These also do not have
work, education or recreational facilities.
Based on the national Law for Penal Execution, the state prisons are required to have work
opportunities and medical facilities, as well as psychological, social and legal resources. Some
are more successful than others. The law also provides for one day to be taken off the sentence
for each day of work, and some judges will grant the same benefit for education although this
is not yet included in the law.
The situation of women is very worrisome. Women are still a small percentage of the total
population, and they are therefore ignored by the system. No new facilities are built for women.
Although women make up only 5-6% of the incarcerated population, foreign women make up
almost 20% of the foreigners imprisoned in Brazil. Women are 26% of those incarcerated in
public jails in the state of São Paulo. When new facilities are opened, they are often old jails or
men’s prisons that are “renovated” with fresh paint. A large percentage of women are completing
their entire sentence in pretrial facilities, with no access to necessary resources that would be
provided in a prison. This includes work especially.
27

According to an official survey done in the system, a high percentage of women actually send
some of the money they earn home to help support their families while men rarely do this. So
it is essential for work to be available to the women.
In addition, about 50% of women are in prison for drug-trafficking and thus subject to longer
sentences and fewer opportunities. The laws are more rigid for certain crimes like drugtrafficking, homicide, rape, etc.
Reentry Programs. Programs for pre-release or re-entry assistance for prisoners practically
don’t exist. The system provides for a step-up program for many crimes which makes it possible
for a person to go from a totally “closed” prison regime to a “semi-open” one (where he/she
can work outside the prison during the day and return at night and on weekends, with an
occasional weekend off), and then finally to an “open” prison where he or she can actually be
at home while completing the sentence.
However, only one program is known to work specifically with inmates in preparation for their
release. In São Paulo, the state prison system has an office for recently released inmates, but it
is extremely inadequate and deficient. They often refer recently released people to the Churches
that offer social services. Thus, the State passes off its responsibility to civil society and charitable
organizations.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. In general, people in jails or prisons are not able to vote. Pre-trial or unsentenced
inmates have the right to vote, but there are few states that actually make this possible. DEPEN
took a survey of the states in 2005 asking about the provisions they had made for prisoners
awaiting judgment (76,000 men and 2,518 women in 2004) to vote. Most of the 16 states that
responded to the survey gave various reasons why they found it impractical to allow these
prisoners to vote. On the other hand, six states affirm the right of those who are eligible to vote.
Through the federal constitution, anyone with a final sentence (after finishing the appeal process)
loses his/her right to vote. His/her political rights are suspended while in prison/jail. The sentence
generally is both a prison sentence and a fine. A person cannot regain his/her right to vote until
he/she has paid the fine. Then he/she can go to the electoral board and solicit the right to vote
again. In Brazil, voting is obligatory, and if one cannot prove that one voted in the latest election
(or that one is justified in why he/she did not vote) then he/she cannot look for a job or cannot
enroll in a school. There is a constitutional amendment in Congress to allow convicted prisoners
to vote.
Visitation. Prison facilities are not built with families and visits in mind. Depending on the
facility, the visits occur in an open patio in the middle of the prison or in the actual cells of the
inmates. Because the visitors have access to the inside and to the cells, the visitors are searched
before entering the prison. Each visitor, often even children, must remove all of his/her clothing
and often must squat down, (sometimes over a mirror for women) at least three times, to show
that he/she is not trying to hide drugs or cell phones in any body cavities. It is extremely
humiliating. We have seen 90-year-old visitors and children who have had to pass through this.
It is very hard on the visitor and on the inmate who knows that his/her family suffers in order to
come in.
At some jails and prisons, family members actually arrive the night before in order to hold their
place in line because the end of the line is often delayed for hours before entering. In general,
28

visitors can stay most of the day on visiting day. In the state of São Paulo, the current political
pressure is to build prisons outside of major cities, and so inmates can visit up to 10 hours or
more with their families. The state does not provide any transportation, and the family member
ends up having to pay bus fare as well as meals for the weekend.
Intimate or conjugal visits do happen – the conditions depend much on the facility. Women’s
prisons have only instituted conjugal visits in the last 4 years, and they generally have rooms
specifically for this purpose. Men’s prisons generally have intimate visits in the cells. They
have to work out a way to do this while providing a minimum of discretion or decency, seeing
as all cells are shared cells – some extremely overcrowded.

Article 11. Every person has the right to the preservation of his health
through sanitary and social measures relating to food, clothing, housing
and medical care, to the extent permitted by public and community resources.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

29

Canada
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Each of the provinces runs its own
legal aid organization which is funded, in part,
by the federal government.The original
arrangement with the provinces called for the
federal government to assume approximately half
of the costs of providing legal aid for indigent defendants who were facing charges that would
likely result in incarceration. Current funding levels from the federal government are set at
$126.5 million. Provision of legal assistance is generally provided through legal aid clinics or
individual attorneys who are remunerated on a contract basis.
The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) argues that the current model of providing legal assistance
to indigent defendants is ineffective, and cites four primary failures. First, inadequate funding
has resulted in significant numbers of people being denied access to legal aid. The bar association
also contends that the widespread knowledge of underfunding of legal aid programs prevents
countless other persons from even applying, while resigning themselves to the fact that their
application will be denied. Second, there are provincial disparities in legal aid coverage, leading
to unequal provision across the country. Third, the legal aid system is structured in such a way
that assistance may only be available for certain legal issues. Thus, a defendant facing a complex
proceeding may only be eligible for partial coverage. Finally, by the nature of the population
served, the dysfunctional elements of the legal aid system are borne largely by the most vulnerable
populations – low income, communities of color, women, and the Aboriginal population.
The CBA has called for increased funding, a standardized set of requirements for legal aid
provision that are uniform across all provinces, and federal legislation addressing necessary
legal services. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has added an additional avenue
in which to challenge the current state of the public provision of defence counsel. According to
a report released by the CBA: “With respect to section 11 of the Charter, a number of cases
have now established that in matters of sufficient seriousness and complexity, the ‘accused
cannot receive a fair trial without counsel.’ However, it is clear that the Supreme Court of
Canada will not dictate to the provinces and territories how they should deliver legal aid services
and which delivery models should be established.”
According to the Correctional Service of Canada’s Inmates’ Access to Legal Assistance and
the Police, “inmates shall be provided with information regarding the availability of legal aid
services upon request.” “Should legal aid be unavailable or should the inmate choose not to
make use of this service, legal fees will be paid by the inmate” (s.18). Knowledge about legal
advice and access varies by institution but is generally not as well known as would be desired.
Some penitentiaries include information about access in their inmates’ handbooks but others
do not.
Juveniles. At age 12 a young person can be charged with a criminal offence under the Youth
Criminal Justice Act (YCJA, s.2(1)); at age 14 a young person can be transferred to adult court
for prosecution of a criminal offence (YCJA, s.62); and at age 18 a person is considered an
adult under the Criminal Code of Canada (CCC) and no longer a “young person” under YCJA,
30

s.2(1). According to s.30(3) of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, prior to sentencing, a young
person “shall be held separate and apart from any adult who is detained or held in custody”
barring certain exceptional circumstances such as no available space in a youth facility. The
YCJA sets out the rules and regulations under which the youth justice system shall operate
including all young persons under the age of 18 serving a youth sentence in youth custody.
There are provisions in the legislation governing placement in an adult facility or transfer to
one for those 18 and over [paragraphs 76(1)(b) and (c) (placement in adult facilities with adult
sentence) and sections 89 to 93 (placement in adult facilities with youth sentence).
Death Penalty. They do not have a death penalty. The last execution was carried out on
December 11, 1962 when 2 men were hanged in Toronto, Ontario. Canada abandoned capital
punishment in 1964 and commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment. In 1976 the death
penalty was removed from the Criminal Code of Canada and replaced by life imprisonment
with no consideration of parole for 10 to 25 years. Canada retained the death penalty for a
number of military offences, including treason and mutiny, although no Canadian soldier was
charged with or executed for a capital crime in over 50 years. On December 10, 1998, the last
vestiges of the death penalty in Canada were abolished with the passage of legislation removing
all references to capital punishment from the National Defence Act.
A sentence may carry no consideration of parole for 10 to 25 years. However, after the abolition
of capital punishment in 1976, Parliament created (s.745) a judicial review option in the Canadian
Criminal Code often called the faint-hope clause. This provision allows murderers serving a
life sentence with no eligibility for parole to apply for judicial review after having served 15
years of their sentence. The only exception is the Dangerous Offender provision contained in
Section 753(4) of the CCC. If the court finds an offender to be a dangerous offender, it shall
impose a sentence of detention in a penitentiary for an indeterminate period.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. In Canada, responsibility for corrections is divided between the federal and
provincial governments. The Correctional Service of Canada is responsible for offenders serving
sentences of two years or longer (including life sentences). The provinces are responsible for
offenders sentenced to terms of less than two years. Canada has a separate federal and provincial
prison system. As of 2004, there were 170 institutions in the country – 54 federal and 116
provincial/territorial. As of mid-year 2004, there were 34,096 persons in Canadian correctional
custody. This includes 12,641 adult federal prisoners, 19,366 adult provincial/territorial
prisoners, and 2,089 juveniles. Thirty percent of these prisoners are pre-trial detainees.
Standards. There are multiple sections of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act that
address minimum standards that must be upheld in a correctional institution. These include
living conditions (s. 70), “The service shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that penitentiaries,
the penitentiary environment, the living and working conditions of inmates, and the working
conditions of staff members are safe, healthful and free of practices that undermine a person’s
sense of personal dignity,” the circumstances during which different types of staff are permitted
to conduct searches without suspicion (s.46-67), and criteria controlling disciplinary infractions
(s.38-45). Any member of the House of Commons, Senator, or judge in Canada is permitted to
enter any penitentiary, visit all sections of that penitentiary, and meet with any inmates (with
his/her consent), barring any exceptional security-related restrictions (s.72). Canada employs a
Correctional Investigator, who is appointed to a five-year term and can conduct investigations
into complaints in federal prisons. These investigations can come at the behest of a person in
prison, the Minister, or his/her own discretion.
31

BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Prison rules are enforced by a disciplinary system, according to s. 38-44 of the
Corrections and Conditional Release Act the purpose of which is to “encourage inmates to
conduct themselves in a manner that promotes the good order of the penitentiary, through a
process that contributes to the inmates’ rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the
community (s. 38). Prisoners can make complaints to the Office of the Correctional Investigator,
an independent entity whose primary function is to investigate and bring resolution to individual
offender complaints.
Independent Chairpersons (ICPs) were first appointed in 1977 to adjudicate disciplinary
proceedings in response to the recommendations of the MacGuigan Report, a Parliamentary
inquiry into the Penitentiary Service of Canada. The MacGuigan Report criticized the Warden’s
Court system of adjudicating disciplinary matters, in which wardens and their delegates made
decisions, as lacking both independence and impartiality. Additionally, disciplinary hearings
were also denounced for failing to comply with procedural rules and fairness. In response, it
was recommended that independent persons external to the institution be appointed to uphold
the appearance of justice and to ensure that disciplinary hearings were fair and equitable.
Prisoner Abuse. Historically, Canadian offenders were subject to corporal punishment
inflicted by various methods including the strap, whipping with the cat-o’-nine-tails, water
hose, bread-and-water diet, paddling, and flogging. The abolition of corporal punishment came
about in 1972 as an option of judicial sentencing under the Canadian Criminal Code and as an
institutional punishment measure.
Part VIII of the CCC, Offences Against the Person and Reputation states that every official, or
every person acting at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of an official
(including a peace officer, a public officer, a member of the Canadian Forces, or any person
who may exercise powers, pursuant to a law in force in a foreign state) who inflicts torture on
any other person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding fourteen years (s.269.1 (1)).
Although some correctional facilities such as Kingston penitentiary used ill-treatment methods
with their prisoners such as the use of dark cells, this practice ceased somewhere in the later
part of the 19th century. Watchdog groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
act as external checks on the use of torture and other treatment of prisoners they regard as cruel.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Section 85-89 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) spells
out the health care responsibilities of the prison system. Canadian prisons are required to provide
“essential health care” and “reasonable access to non-essential mental health care that will
contribute to the inmate’s rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the community” (CCRA
s.86-1(a-b)). However, the Correctional Investigators Report has noted that conditions for women
prisoners in Canada is below par with particular emphasis on a lack of access to health care
(long waiting lists to see a physician or specialist), the quality of the health care provided by the
institution, medical decisions that were made by the institution, and a lack of appropriate mental
health services.
Rehabilitation Programs. The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) provides education
programs at minimum, medium, and maximum-security institutions for Adult Basic Education
(Grades 1 to 10), Secondary Education (Grade 12), Vocational Education, and Post-secondary
32

Education. Post-secondary education offers offenders the opportunity to acquire a trade or
profession, as well as to update trade qualifications prior to their release. Offenders generally
pay for their own post-secondary studies, unless it can be demonstrated that the education
addresses a very specific need.
According to Griffiths and Cunningham (2000), “In 1980, the federal government created
CORCAN Corporation, which has as its primary mandate the production and marketing of
prison-made goods. The objective of CORCAN is to provide offenders with training and work
experiences in an institutional setting which they can transfer to the private sector in the outside
community. Under provisions of the CCRA, goods and services produced by inmates can be
sold only to federal, provincial and municipal governments or to charitable, religious and nonprofit organizations” (Excerpt from Canadian Corrections, p. 279). All correctional work
programs call for group interaction through which offenders learn and practice skills that they
will need to draw upon to facilitate reintegration and to adapt to private sector work settings.
These important skills are central to the core employability program CSC intended to develop
and implement. More specifically, they include problem solving, critical thinking, punctuality,
interacting with coworkers, being respectful of other people’s opinions and feelings, and dealing
with authority figures. Offenders who work while in an institution may earn between $5.25 and
$6.90 daily, depending on their performance.
Within the CSC, recreation officers at each prison are responsible for the development,
implementation, instruction and supervision of a variety of recreation programs.
Re-entry Programs. They do have programs for pre-release or re-entry assistance for
prisoners. However, they are voluntary sector organizations and First Nations communities.
These include but are not limited to the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, John
Howard Society of Canada, L’Association des Services de Réhabilitation sociale du Québec,
Salvation Army Correctional and Justice Services, St. Leonard’s Society of Canada, LINC
(Long Term Offenders in the Community), and LifeLine (Lifers Helping Lifers)
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. In the case of Sauve v. Canada in 2002, the Canadian Supreme Court overturned a
prior prohibition on persons in prison serving a sentence of two years or more, from voting in
federal elections. The Court ruled that to disenfranchise these persons in prison rendered the
government no longer representative of its citizenry, thereby weakening fundamental democratic
principles. The Court noted that to deny “penitentiary inmates (i.e., federal) the right to vote is
more likely to send messages that undermine respect for the law and democracy than messages
that enhance those values.” Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states
that “every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of
Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.” The Court
held that a ban on voting for persons in prison was in conflict with the Charter, and that the
government “failed to identify particular problems that require denying the right to vote.”
Prisoners vote inside the prison at advance polls.
Provincial inmates (incarcerated individuals serving sentences of two years or less) have the
right to vote in federal elections under the Canada Elections Act. The right to vote in provincial
elections varies by province. Three Canadian provinces and territories, New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia and the Yukon Territory, have elected to completely ban inmate voting. In Alberta, the
government has passed amendments to The Election Act that grant voting rights only to those
inmates serving less than 10 days, serving for fine default, or convicted but not sentenced.
33

Voting rights are reinstated to all prisoners, regardless of time served, nature of the crime, etc.
once released from prison/jail.
Visitation. Section 59,60,71 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act spell out the
correctional system’s rules regarding visiting arrangements. The objective of the “private family
visit program” is to “encourage offenders to develop and maintain family and community ties
in preparation for their return to the community and to lessen the negative impact of incarceration
on family relationships.” For those persons deemed eligible for a private family visit, they are
generally allotted 72 hours, once every two months. All persons are eligible, except persons:accepted as being currently at risk of becoming involved in family violence; in receipt of
unescorted temporary absences for family conduct; or in a special handling unit, or are awaiting
decision, or have been approved for transfer to a special handling unit.
Family and Corrections Network (FCN) is an organization for and about families of prisoners
that offers information, training and technical assistance on children of prisoners, parenting
programs for prisoners, prison visiting, incarcerated fathers and mothers, hospitality programs,
keeping in touch, returning to the community, the impact of the justice system on families, and
prison marriage. Staff and volunteers provide information, counselling, some transportation,
assistance and support to prison visitors of prisoners, ex-offenders and others in conflict or
potential conflict with the law. Short term accommodation is provided for families and friends
visiting inmates at Federal institutions or relocating to the area.

Article 5.6 Punishments consisting of deprivation of liberty shall have as
an essential aim the reform and social readaptation of the prisoners.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

34

Chile
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. An office of Public Defender provides professional
legal counsel to anyone seeking such assistance. The Constitution
provides for the right to legal counsel, but indigent defendants,
who account for the majority of the cases in the Santiago region,
did not always receive effective legal representation. They usually
were represented by someone from the Government’s legal
assistance corporation, who was sometimes a law student finishing
studies under the supervision of one of the corporation’s lawyers. Defendants have a right of
appeal. The judicial reform law establishes a presumption of innocence, which the old system
does not explicitly provide.1
Juveniles. Young people are considered adults for the purposes of the criminal justice system
at age 18. The law requires that juvenile offenders (those under the age of 18) be held separately
from adult prisoners.
A Diego Portales University study reported that, in May, the Gendarmeria moved juvenile
offenders from the South Santiago prison for men to a reserved section of the Santiago women’s
prison, and two new juvenile detention centers were opened. 2
Death Penalty. They do have a death penalty, but not for ordinary crimes (defined by Amnesty
International as “abolitionist for ordinary crimes.”) The death penalty is retained in the Code of
Military Justice for crimes committed in time of war. There have been no executions since
1985. All death row inmates since had sentences commuted to life in prison by Presidential
Decree.1,
They do not have sentences of life without the possibility of parole. The most serious felons are
eligible for parole after 2/3 of their time has been served. The rest are eligible after half of their
time has been served.1
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. There is only a single national prison system. Prisons often were overcrowded and
antiquated, with sub-standard sanitary conditions. According to the Ministry of Justice, there
were approximately 37,000 prisoners in prisons designed to hold 23,025 inmates.2
Standards. Constitutional provisions were enacted after the fall of the Pinochet government.
These included anti-torture provisions and other similar measures. The Chilean Ministry of
Justice oversees the prison system.2
35

BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Each prison has written rules and regulations governing prisoner behavior. The
Chilean prison guard service, the Gendarmería de Chile, oversees the prisoners in the system.
“Within the prison guard service there is no transparent and effective internal control system to
verify, investigate and punish behavior that violates inmates’ basic rights, despite the procedures
laid out in prison Regulations. The due processing of petitions is the responsibility of each
prison governor. However, in some prisons the governor never becomes aware of the complaints
presented or against whom they were presented. Some comply with the formality of having a
book to register complaints but in practice nothing happens with those complaints.” 3
Prisoner Abuse. The Chilean constitution prohibits actions such as corporal punishment,
torture, dark cells, or any other cruel, unusual or degrading treatment, but complaints from
prisoners still surface. The Chilean statutory definition of torture was noted as a point of concern
by Amnesty International.4
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Food in prisons met minimal nutritional needs, and prisoners were able to
supplement their diets by buying food. Those with sufficient funds often could “rent” space in
a better wing of the prison.
In isolated instances, prisoners died due to lack of clear prison procedures and insufficient
resources in the prisons. In March, in San Miguel Prison, Hernan Zuleta Sanchez experienced
abdominal pains but did not receive timely or appropriate treatment, was placed in solitary
confinement, and died early the following day from a burst hernia.
Rehabilitation Programs. Under the Criminal Code, all persons sentenced for periods
between sixty-one days and five years are obligated to work. Prisoners are remunerated for
their work on a rising scale as they progress through the penal system and are eligible for the
benefits of social insurance on the same basis as those in voluntary employment. However, a
percentage of prisoners’ earnings is deducted to cover their keep and the maintenance of the
penal service and as a contribution toward the discharge of civil responsibility arising from
their offenses. Work can be either directly for the state, on contract, or on lease. Examples of
work for the state include manufacture of such items as road signs or automobile license plates,
or public road construction and maintenance. Work on contract to private firms or individuals
is still carried out within the penal institution, but with tools and materials supplied by the
contractor. Work on lease differs inasmuch as the private contractor is responsible for the
housing and maintenance of the prisoner in secure conditions. Prisoners may also undertake
additional discretionary work of a gainful nature within certain limitations laid down by the
prisons administration.
Reentry Programs. Chile is enacting significant justice system reforms that seem to be
opening doors for more restorative elements. Problems with crime and lack of trust in the
criminal justice system provoked both the government and civil society to seek new options
and creative solutions when seeking justice. These include more emphasis on victim’s issues,
the creation of community mechanisms for dealing with conflict, and the introduction of
mediation projects into schools.5

36

RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Chilean felons, along with those on trial for felonies, are not permitted to vote while
incarcerated. Voting rights are not restored automatically upon release. Convicts are eligible to
vote again ten years after release.6
Visitation. Family members are allowed regular visitation. Public transportation runs near
prisons but is not provided free of cost. Prisoners are always monitored.2
SOURCES:
1
<http://www.apaintl.org/Pub-Conf2000-WkshpEMartinez-En.html>
2
<http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41753.htm>
3
<http://www.omct.org/pdf/prev_torture/2004/stateviolence_chile_04_eng.pdf>
4
<http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr220062004>
5
<http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-2561.html>
6
<http://www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/Rottinghaus.pdf>

Article 17. Every person has the right to be recognized everywhere as a
person having rights and obligations, and to enjoy the basic civil rights.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

37

.-

Columbia

.c... ........

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. The Colombian public defense system is currently being improved through a
U.S.AID-financed justice program. A private U.S. consulting corporation called Checchi is
conducting an overall strengthening of the criminal justice system in Colombia, including the
introduction of oral trials and the improvement of public defense services. It will be impossible
to provide enough public defenders to represent the thousands of rural indigents who have
been arrested in an arbitrary manner as a result of the U.S. War on Drugs and on Terrorism.
Indigents who oppose the fumigation of their lands or who in any way oppose policies of the
government are considered “terrorists” and may be arrested and imprisoned. In view of this, it
is sadly ironic that the U.S. government hires a private U.S. corporation to improve Colombia’s
public defense system.
Juveniles. Juveniles are minors until age 18. According to the UN-CRC (Convention on the
Rights of the Child), minors could not be imprisoned with adults, and their punishment, even in
cases of homicide, could not exceed three years. Colombia has begun to build re-education
centers, each designed to house and rehabilitate 150 to 200 juvenile offenders. Also a university
specialization in youth re-education is now available in Colombia, as a five-year program
administered by the Capuchin Friars.
Death Penalty. The death penalty was eliminated in 1910. It should be noted, though, that for
many, a prison sentence is equivalent to a death penalty. “Overcrowding severely impedes the
capacity of staff to maintain control. There are cases of prisoners being kidnapped and held for
ransom by other prisoners in ‘no go areas.’ Brutal conditions have produced a murder rate of
one prisoner a day.” – Colombia Solidarity Campaign. The maximum prison term allowed by
The Penal Code is 24 years.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. All prisons are under the supervision of INPEC – Instituto Nacional Penitenciario
y Carcelario. This administration is a division of the Ministry of Justice and Law – El Ministerio
de Justicia y del Derecho. The total prison population is about 70,000, nearly twice the number
that the units were designed to hold. 30% of the prisoners, about 22,000, are awaiting trial.
“Many of these prisoners are held on politically motivated charges. Delays in the processing of
legal cases of political prisoners is notorious” (www.colombiasolidarity.org). In the 1980s,
when the prison population was about 30,000, those awaiting trial were held at small local
jails. Now, President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, with the backing of the U.S., has declared a war
against terrorism. Several new, high security prisons have been constructed, making a total of
168 prisons, not including provincial jails.
Standards. The prison standards delineated by INPEC have been weakened by severe
overcrowding, and control is often held by paramilitaries and other prisoners with resources
and backing. In emergency situations such as riots, the National Police and Army are available.
38

BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Rules governing prisoner behavior would be included in the policies of INPEC.
Available sources revealed nothing regarding specific grievance procedures.
Prisoner Abuse. Although official policies do not condone abuse, actual life is insecure and
terrifying. Political prisoners are especially vulnerable to abuse. In March of 2000, the U.S.
signed a Program for the Improvement of the Colombian Prison System. The U.S. Federal
Prisons Bureau sponsored an investment of over 4.5 million dollars to build high-security
prisons where prisoners remain in their cells 23-24 hours a day. This manipulation of Colombia’s
prison system “has led to new levels of intimidation, humiliation and the constant violation of
human rights.” (Source: “Life as a Political Prisoner in Colombia” by Vincenzo Gonzáles;
www.counterpunch.org.).
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Official concern for health care in prisons is evident from this bulletin from
ICRC (Red Cross) News, 12/2002: “On 5 July, the Colombian National Prison Institute (INPEC)
presented a special award to ICRC health delegate Marie-Therese Engelberts in recognition of
the ICRC’s activities to promote health care and disease prevention in the country’s prisons.”
The activities include “a pilot community health-care project and programs to assist disabled
detainees, prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and provide early screening for
breast cancer . . . Given the positive results obtained so far, the ICRC and INPEC plan to
extend the programs to other detention centers in Colombia.” In spite of these commendable
Red Cross activities, many prisoners suffer serious health problems and receive no medical
care. “Life inside is a constant battle for survival both physically and mentally” (V. González).
Rehabilitation Programs. In the high-security prisons, prisoners are denied the right to
stay in touch with events outside and are forbidden to receive newspapers or magazines. They
are not allowed radio or television. Any kind of training or treatment program is out of the
question when prisoners stay locked up 23-24 hours a day. The prisoner “is not able to go
outside for even the short amount of time allowed by the penitentiary regime because the
paramilitaries being detained in the same prison have orders to assassinate him and no one in
authority is likely to stop them.” In the older facilities, various programs of education and
training are offered by the Red Cross and other non-government organizations.
Reentry Programs. The international rehabilitation organization, Ashoka, reports:
“Colombia’s prisons do not address the rehabilitation of inmates. There are no socialization
programs that would promote reform of prisoners’ violent ways, reduce tensions, and prepare
them for life after release. According to Colombia’s Ministry of Justice, 95 percent of released
prisoners return to crime and end up back in jail.” A notable exception is the case of José David
Toro who was accepted into the Ashoka Fellowship in 2001. Before his release from Picaleña
prison, José David created a “Peace Laboratory” to help prepare inmates “for life outside
prison through a combination of psychological, educational, and creative support programs.”
Emphasis was placed on developing work skills, with volunteers teaching inmates accounting
and how to start small businesses. After his release, he founded the Horizons of Freedom
Foundation with a group of 42 prisoners, former prisoners, and family members of Picaleña
inmates. “He has succeeded in creating one place in the whole nation where left-wing guerrillas
and right-wing paramilitary members coexist in peace—in prison, no less.” The Peace Laboratory
proves how armed conflict can be resolved through dialogue and mutual understanding. (For
more details, go to www.ashoka.org/fellows/.)
39

RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. The research done by Brandon Rottinghaus, Northwestern University, does not include
Colombia among the nations that allow prisoners to vote.
Visitation. The OAS survey by the ICHR, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights,
indicates that prisoners in Colombia and other member nations are allowed visits from family
and friends. In Colombia, the prison system is not at all visitor-friendly. Prisoners are often
assigned to units far away from home and family. Also, according to Vincenzo González,
“Visiting family and friends are warned by the paramilitaries patrolling the prisons that they
will be killed if they ever come back. The INPEC guard goes to great lengths to point out which
visitors are coming to see political prisoners.” Conjugal visits are permitted, but are affected by
the violent and overcrowded prison conditions. In 2000 a lesbian prisoner created a worldwide furor because her partner was not allowed a “conjugal visit.”

Article 7.6 Anyone who is deprived of his liberty shall be entitled to recourse to a competent court, in order that the court may decide without
delay on the lawfullness of his arrest or detention and order his release if
the arrest or detention is unlawful.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

40

Costa Rica
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. The Public Defenders Department, attached to the Judicial Branch, was created in
1970 to ensure the application of the principle of equality before justice, and in 1973 the
Prosecution Agency and the Judicial Investigations Agency became attached to the Judicial
Branch. The current rules that govern this sector are represented by the 1993 Organic Law of
the Judicial Branch Council, responsible for the agreement and discipline of this branch, and
law practice. The right to a full defense is recognized from the start of the penal prosecution to
the conclusion of the application of the punishment. To this effect, the accused can choose a
defender that she or he trusts; in its absence, a public defender shall be assigned to the case.
Although the Costa Rican Judicial system is regarded as one of the best in Latin America,
critics allege it is highly vertical and that there is a concentration of power in the Supreme
Court.
Juveniles. The provisions and punishments provided for in the Penal Code are applied to
persons over 18, while those 12 to 18 years old are subject to the Juvenile Penal Justice Law. A
distinction concerning procedure, punishment, and application of punishment is made between
two juvenile age groups: ages 12 to 15 and 15 to 18 years. Those under 12 must be referred by
the penal courts to the National Children’s Protection Board, for the necessary care and follow
up. Juveniles are held in separate detention facilities in campus-like conditions that generally
are considered good. The juvenile penal system held 93 youths in detention and another 507 in
supervised alternative sanction programs as of publication in February 2005.
Death Penalty. There is no death penalty in Costa Rica; it was abolished in 1877.
According to the penal code, all those sentenced to prison can request the competent judge to
grant conditional release upon completion of half their imposed term. Conditional release may
be granted if the applicant has not been previously convicted for a common offense punishable
with imprisonment of more than 6 months.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. As of 11/04 there were 7619 prisoners in Costa Rica which is 177 prisoners per
100,000 citizens. This includes the pretrial prisoners as well. Most, but not all pretrial detainees
are held separately from convicted prisoners. A criminal court may hold suspects in pretrial
detention for periods of up to 1 year, and the court of appeals may extend this period to 2 years
in especially complex cases. The law requires that suspects in pretrial detention have their
cases reviewed every 3 months by the court to determine the appropriateness of continued
detention. According to the Ministry of Justice, in October 2004, there were 2078 persons in
pretrial detention, representing 39 percent of the prison population.
Standards. Costa Rica is known for adhering to international prison standards.
41

BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Prisoner Abuse. From August 2004 to February 2005, according to the U.S. Department of
State, the ombudsman’s office received 14 complaints of physical abuse of prisoners by guards,
of which 11 were still being investigated, and 3 were determined to be without merit, as of time
of publication.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. By February 2005, the ombudsman’s office received 163 complaints from
prisoners alleging inadequate medical care, arbitrary administrative procedures, violation of
due process of disciplinary procedures, unfair denial of prison transfer requests, and poor
living conditions. Of these 163 complaints, 89 were still being investigated, 15 were determined
to be legitimate, and 59 were determined to be without merit as of publication of this article.
The ombudsman’s office investigated all complaints and referred serious cases of abuse to the
public prosecutor.
Reentry Programs. Some penal reform organizations are founded by, or mainly consist of
ex-prisoners. Their work often centers on finding ex-prisoners somewhere to live, providing
education and training and giving them support when they leave prison.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Prisoners do not automatically lose their right to vote in the diverse jurisdictions of
Costa Rica.
Visitation. As in most parts of Latin America, prisoners can have private visits from their
families in their living accommodations for hours once or twice a week. The right to Family
Life applies to prisoners’ families. They have not been convicted but are separated from their
father, mother, brother, sister, or child. They are entitled to have as much time as can be reasonably
allowed with their imprisoned family member.

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one
another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.
Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person
before the law.
Article 8: Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent
national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by
the constitution or by law.
Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

42

-

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Article 15. Every person has the right to leisure time, to wholesome
recreation, and to the opportunity for advantageous use of his free
time, to his spiritual, cultural and physical benefit.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

43

Cuba

cueA

_
.

•
CRIMINAL JUSTICE

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Indigents. Since everyone is “entitled” to a lawyer in this Socialist state, a public defender is
not required. However, in this inquisitorial system there is a preliminary process (arrest and
pre-trial for which no warrant is issued); and no lawyer is provided immediately after arrest.
Though plans are under way to change this procedure, the defense lawyer materializes usually
only a few minutes before the trial begins. Sometimes lawyers are reluctant to represent political
prisoners for fear of jeopardizing their career.
Juveniles. Persons of voting age (16) qualify as adults in the criminal justice system. There
are institutions which resemble schools that house juvenile delinquents.
Death Penalty. They do have a death penalty. There is execution by firing squad for multiple
murders, murder of a child, murder with torture, and treason. Pregnant women and persons
under 20 are exempt. The death penalty had been abolished in 1989 but was reinstated some
time thereafter. Nobody knows exactly how many people have been executed in this secretive
society, but the last known executions were three in number and were carried out after the
crackdown of 2003.
The responders have seen no evidence of sentences longer than 20 years, except those given
after the crackdown of April 2003, when some sentences reached up to 28 years.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. Cuba has provincial and municipal prison systems, the former mostly for
misdemeanors and the latter for more serious offences, both under the Ministry of the Interior.
The government does not disclose the exact number awaiting trial: in 1999 it said that the
figure was 8%. The prison population in 2003, according to Nils Christie, was about 55.000,
with Cuba disclosing 40 maximum and 40 minimum security facilities as well as over 200
work camps. Research by the Human Rights Watch finds these numbers low. For ordinary
criminals the place of pre-trial confinement is the police station for those who do not make bail
(Bail is low). For political prisoners, the answer is unclear.
Standards. There are constitutional prohibitions against beating prisoners as well as
withholding medicines and health care, but “security breaches” apparently nullify these. Few
holds are barred in the treatment of political prisoners.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. The responders found no evidence that prisons have written rules and regulations.
Prisoners report that they are beaten and/or otherwise punished for complaining about their
situation. Complaints to the central authority seem to require reinforcement from family and
sometimes from advocacy groups.
44

Prisoner Abuse. In 2004 Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Rogue stated that “Cuba meets the
minimum requirements the United Nations requires for detainees.” He was referring to 95 laws
governing the treatment of detainees, under which no prisoner is subject to torture or physical
abuse in jail. Reportedly there are many infractions of these rules in practice. Some are: extreme
overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, semi-darkened or constantly brightened cells, inadequate
and sometimes spoiled food, withheld or inadequate medications, neglecting to treat illnesses;
and beatings with rubber hoses and night sticks.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Hospitals offer the same care to prisoners and to all citizens. Everyday health
care reportedly is inadequate. Unhealthful environmental conditions prevail in many, if not all,
prisons. Required medication is not always provided, and reportedly it is withdrawn either
arbitrarily or for a punishment.
Rehabilitation Programs. Prisoners are usually afforded one hour in the sunshine, even
when they are housed in semi-darkened cells. Recreation was never mentioned in sources.
However, foreign journalists who were invited to view two hospitals which contained prison
units, observed hundreds of men playing baseball and volleyball in the compound. These men
were probably not the “security risks” that political prisoners are thought to be.
Reentry Programs. The responders have no information regarding pre-release programs for
political prisoners. In every way they are a “thing apart.” Ordinary prisoners are expected to
finish high school. Then they are prepared for a trade. A program begun in 2000 trains medical
professionals –in nursing, physical education, basic hygiene and epidemiology, and in areas of
medical technology. The bi-monthly conjugal visitation for married and common law spouses
is a way of preparing for release.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Cuba is not in the Rottinghaus list of countries that permit its prisoners to vote.1 The
incidence of pre-trial prisoners voting would be very rare, because trials are ordinarily speedy
and because elections are rare. If trials for “common criminals” are to be delayed, the accused
can readily and inexpensively be released on bond. If an election did occur during this period,
these persons probably could vote. Sentenced prisoners are all disenfranchised.
Visitation. Visitors may come as often as once every two weeks (with the prisoner’s good
behavior) or possibly more often (since 1994). Visitors may bring food and medicine. There is
no mention of transportation being provided. Prisoners are sometimes sent hundreds of miles
from home, which is reported as a severe burden on families.
SOURCES:
1
<www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf>

45

Article 16. Every person has the right to social security which will protect
him from the consequences of unemployment, old age, and any disabilities
arising from causes beyond his control that make it physically or mentally
impossible for him to earn a living.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

46

Dominica
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Counsel is provided to indigents only in capital cases.
Juveniles. There is separation of juveniles but no separate prison for juveniles.
Death Penalty. Dominica has a death penalty, but it has not been used since about 1980. They
do not have sentences of life without possibility of parole.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. There is only one prison in the whole country. As of 2004, there were 290 prisoners.
43.4% (126) are pre-trial. There is no separation of sentenced prisoners and pre-trial detainees
due to overcrowding and lack of sufficient holding cells.
Standards. There are written statutes, and a formal complaint procedure, but little enforcement.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Each prison has written rules and regulations governing prisoner behavior. DOC
enforces its own rules. Complaints are entertained.
Prisoner Abuse. No corporal punishment or torture is allowed by the Constitution. There
were 13 cases of misconduct brought against the police in 2004, of which 7 were for excessive
force. Most such cases have been dismissed.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Prisoners have access to a doctor. Prison conditions are poor. Buildings are in
disrepair and conditions are unsanitary. Overcrowding is a serious problem.
Rehab Programs. A recreation yard is available. They grow their own food. There is no
work, no pay, and little education.
Reentry Programs. There are limited programs for pre-release or re-entry assistance for
prisoners.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Prisoners can vote by absentee ballot.
Visitation. Regular visiting is available. Visitors must get to the prison by themselves. There
is no private visitation.

47

Article 13. Every person has the right to take part in the cultural life of the
community, to enjoy the arts, and to participate in the benefits that result
from intellectual progress, especially scientific discoveries.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

48

Dominican Republic
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Most detainees and prisoners did not have prompt access to a lawyer and could not
afford adequate defense services. The National Office of Judicial Defense, with foreign donor
support, provided legal advice and representation to indigent persons. As of October, 2005, the
government’s program to train public defenders had placed 80 public defenders in Santo
Domingo, Santiago, and some smaller areas. The Supreme Court also paid 97 private lawyers
across the country to provide part-time legal services to indigent defendants.
Few defendants were granted bail, although bail became more common following
implementation of the new Criminal Procedures Code, which requires judicial review of
detentions at an earlier point in a criminal case. Many suspects endured long pretrial detention.
According to several reports, 66 percent of inmates were held without charges or while awaiting
trial. The average pretrial detention was more than six months. Time served in pretrial detention
counted toward a sentence.
The law provides that an accused may be detained for 48 hours before being presented to
judicial authorities. It also provides for recourse to habeas corpus proceedings to request the
release of those unlawfully held; however, at times the police violated constitutional and legal
provisions by detaining suspects for investigation or interrogation beyond the prescribed 48hour limit or detaining suspects without a warrant. Police often detained all suspects and
witnesses in a crime and used the investigative process to determine who were innocent and
merited release, and who they should continue to hold. Additionally police continued to detain
relatives and friends of suspects in order to pressure suspects to surrender or to confess. These
practices were employed less often after the new Criminal Procedures Code came into force.
The failure of prison authorities to produce the accused for court hearings caused a significant
percentage of trial postponements. In addition inmates often had their court dates postponed
because their lawyer or witnesses did not appear. The authorities held some inmates even though
there were no formal charges against them.
The law provides for a presumption of innocence, the right of appeal, and the right to confront
or question witnesses. The law establishes a citizen’s right not to be deprived of liberty without
trial or legal formalities, or for reasons other than those provided by law; the right not to be a
witness against oneself; and the right to a defense in an impartial and public trial. The authorities
commonly violated these rights.
Citizens have recourse to the remedy of amparo, an action to seek redress of any violation of a
constitutional right, including violations by judicial officials. This remedy was rarely used,
except by those with sophisticated legal counsel.
Lawyers from the National District Prosecutor’s Office monitored the investigative process to
ensure that detainees’ rights were respected in high-volume police stations and in several National
Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) offices. There was some evidence that assistant prosecutors
49

at times acquiesced in traditional police practices rather than attempt to raise these practices to
constitutional standards. However, with the implementation of the new Criminal Procedures
Code in September 2004, detainees received additional protections, and respect for detainee
rights improved, including increased enforcement of time limits for pretrial detention.
Juveniles. Juveniles often are detained with the general prison population in detention facilities.
The authorities sometimes treated minors as adults and incarcerated them in prison rather than
juvenile detention centers. However, juveniles are separated from adults in the prisons.
Juveniles held at the Department for Minors at the Villa Juana police station commonly were
held well beyond the 12-hour limit for sending the case to the district attorney’s office. The law
prohibits interrogation of juveniles by the police or in the presence of police; prosecutors and
judges handle questioning.
Death Penalty. There is no death penalty in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic
does not currently have a provision for life sentences. It is being debated.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. According to the Directorate of Prisons, the police and the military held
approximately 13 thousand prisoners and detainees in 35 prisons with an intended capacity of
approximately 9 thousand. Virtually all prisons experienced extreme overcrowding. La Victoria
prison, the largest in the country, held more than 3500 prisoners in a facility designed for one
thousand and had only 354 beds for its inmates. Rafey prison held approximately 1200 prisoners
in a facility designed to hold 600. Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners.
Standards. During the on-site visit of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in
1999, it was noted that there was no set of regulations nor any manual on the treatment of
prisoners in the prison system of the Dominican Republic, nor in the particular prisons.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. The Director General of Prisons recognized, during the visit of the Inter-American
Human Rights Commission, that “discipline has traditionally been imposed in an improvisational
fashion, as there was no system or regime for managing the prisons or for the treatment of
prisoners.”
Prisoner Abuse. Although the law prohibits such practices, security force personnel, primarily
mid-level and lower-ranking members of the police, continued to torture, beat, and otherwise
physically abuse detainees and prisoners. According to human rights organizations, both the
National Police and prison officials used forms of torture. The method most often used was
beating. Human rights organizations also reported asphyxiation with plastic bags to elicit
confessions as a form of torture.
Senior police officials took the prohibition on torture and physical abuse seriously, but lack of
supervision, training, and accountability throughout the law enforcement and corrections systems
undercut efforts to contain the problem. Human rights groups reported repeated instances of
physical abuse of detainees, including various forms of torture, beatings, and sexual abuse.
Prison conditions ranged from poor to harsh. Prisoners were not taken to their trials unless they
paid bribes to the guards. Prison officials accepted money in exchange for a recommendation
that a prisoner be furloughed or released for health reasons.
50

Although a warden who reports to the attorney general was responsible for running each prison,
in practice a police or military officer (generally appointed for a period of only three to six
months and responsible for providing security) was usually in charge of the prison. Overcrowding
was so severe that some prisons were totally out of the authorities’ control and were, in effect,
operated by gangs and armed inmates.
The press and human rights groups reported extensive drug and arms trafficking within the
prisons, as well as prostitution and sexual abuse, including abuse of minors. There were a
number of deaths due to negligence in the prisons. During a riot in March, inmates set fire to a
cellblock. At least 136 inmates died and 26 were injured. While the Higuey prison was built to
hold 80 inmates, the prison director reported that it held 426 inmates at the time of the fire. The
burned cellblock, designed for no more than 40, held more than 150 inmates. The majority of
the persons who died in the fire were in pretrial custody.
Although female inmates generally were separated from male inmates, there were some cases
of male and female prisoners being held together. Half of the total female population was held
in a female-only prison. Conditions in the female prison wings generally were better than those
in male prison wings. There were some reports of guards physically and sexually abusing
female inmates.
Inmates were not separated by crime within the prison population; however, they could be put
into solitary confinement for disturbances while incarcerated.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. The prisons were seriously overcrowded, health and sanitary conditions were
poor, and some prisons were out of the authorities’ control. Budget allocations for necessities
such as food, medicine, and transportation were insufficient. Most inmates begged or purchased
food from persons in the vicinity of the prison or obtained it from family members.
Prisons often did not provide adequate medical care to inmates. Prisoners immobilized by
AIDS or who had terminal illnesses were not transferred to hospitals.
Rehabilitation Programs. There has not been any rehabilitation or education program. In
1997, a private program was begun for the rehabilitation of drug addicts among the prison
population. The program does not receive any funding from the state. Some Dominican prisoners
work on small construction works and some workshops in their prisons, but the majority have
no work at all.
Reentry Programs. There is no programming of any kind offered by the system.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Incarcerated persons cannot vote.
Visitation. There are reports of visitors having to bribe prison guards in order to visit prisoners.
(We suspect these reports apply to detention facilities.) Prisons have a broad and liberal visitation
policy. Contact and conjugal visitations (male only) are allowed 2 -3 times per week. Female
inmates, unlike their male counterparts, were prohibited from receiving conjugal visits. Those
who gave birth while incarcerated were permitted to keep their babies with them for a year.
SOURCES:
1. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005, Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006
2. Report of the visit by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 1999.

51

Article 18. Every person may resort to the courts to ensure respect for his
legal rights. There should likewise be available to him a simple, brief procedure whereby the courts will protect him from acts of authority that, to
his prejudice, violate any fundamental constitutional rights.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

52

Ecuador
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Although a public defender system exists, in practice only 32 attorneys were
available to defend the large number of impoverished suspects throughout the country.
NGOs reported that the Government did not have an established practice to enforce the law’s
provision that criminal detainees are entitled to prompt access to lawyers and family members.
Delays varied depending on the circumstances and officials’ willingness to enforce the law;
alleged narcotics traffickers commonly waited 24 to 48 hours for these visits. Detainees with
sufficient resources often bribed prison officials to facilitate access.
The Constitution explicitly recognizes the indigenous communities’ right to exercise their own
system of justice, based on their traditions and customs. However, the law does not yet specify
how this is to work in practice. This parallel system raised questions of both jurisdiction and
conformity to the right to a fair trial.
Juveniles. At the age of 18 juveniles are kept separate in the Ministry of Social Welfare.
Death Penalty. Ecuador abolished the death penalty in 1906. A proposal to reinstate it was
defeated in 1994. A sentence of life without parole is possible in Ecuador since the country has
no death penalty. Prisoners are not eligible for parole until they have served three-quarters of
their sentence.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. The 34 prisons and jails in Ecuador are under the direction of The Directorate of
Social Rehabilitation, a division of the Ministry of Government and Justice.
As of December, 2005, 12,394 prisoners nationwide were held in facilities built to hold 7463.
The law permits prisoners to be held for an indefinite period after indictments have been issued
but before they have been convicted or sentenced. Therefore, 10 to 15 percent of the prisoners
had been tried, and 60 percent had not been sentenced.
Pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners are 63.0% of the prison population (as of 1/12/2005). A
2005 U.S. State Department report states that “pre-trial detainees were held with convicted
prisoners.”
Standards. There are laws which set forth prison standards. However, In January of 2005,
President Gutierrez declared Ecuador’s overcrowded prisons to be in a “state of emergency”
and promised extra funding to improve facilities.
Conditions in prisons and detention centers generally were poor and tended to be worse in the
tropical coastal areas than in the temperate highlands. Overcrowding was a chronic problem in
most facilities.
53

BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. There are not enough guards to enforce prison policies. Many guards are poorly
trained, unreliable, and brutal. Some guards sleep with the women, harassing them.
Complaints come in the form of visible, dramatic protests. Hunger strikes are common, and
women have sewn their lips shut as a protest. On numerous occasions, prisoners have held
visitors as hostages to protest overcrowding, poor conditions and long sentences. Each prison
is on an individual basis, sometimes with state rules for enforcement.
Prisoner Abuse. While the law prohibits torture and similar forms of intimidation and
punishment, some officers continue to torture and abuse suspects and prisoners, often with
impunity.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Most prisons provide poor medical care, and urgent medical conditions may
receive only minimal attention. Food is insufficient in both quantity and quality, and prisoners
must pay for adequate nutrition from their own funds.
A number of prisons experienced serious outbreaks of disease, and medical care often was
inadequate. The daily amount allocated for prison rations was $0.75 per inmate.
Rehabilitation Programs. Although the laws called for rehabilitation of prisoners, few
facilities had space, staffing, and equipment for education or training programs. The women’s
prison in Quito provides both academic and vocational courses. Private factories hold prison
work contracts. All prisoners are expected to work and are paid a minimum wage. One-third of
the wages go to the prisoner upon release; one-third to pay expenses while in prison; and onethird to the court to take care of expenses.
Non-government programs exist, such as the Ashoka program developed by Ximena Costales.
The program began in three men’s prisons in Quito, and has shown dramatic success. Of over
100 prisoners who went through the program and have been released, none have been returned
to prison.
Re-entry Programs. Some re-entry assistance is provided by non-government groups or
individuals. For example, Ximena Costales rehabilitates prisoners in Ecuador through selfemployment training and the establishment of small businesses. Her approach virtually eliminates
recidivism while sowing the seeds of self-employment in poor communities. After learning
how to read and write, prisoners are given at least 40 hours of instruction in basic management,
total quality management, and higher-level business techniques. Her most advanced students
tutor fellow prisoners in reading and writing. Ximena’s goal is to help prisoners learn how to
live their lives with dignity, take charge of their own lives, assume leadership roles, and devise
plans to become productive members of society while retaining their cultural identity.
Ximena has involved the School of Business Administration at the Catholic University of Quito
in a program that involves business students in marketing and planning for prison-based
businesses. Plans call for the program to offer academic credit to inmate/students. Her program
is sponsored by Ashoka, whose mission is to develop social entrepreneurship around the world.
(Go to www.Ashoka.org)
54

Regardless of the legality of a detention, a prisoner may be released only by court order. In
some cases, detainees who are unaware of this provision, or who do not have the funds to hire
a lawyer, may remain in prison for an extended period before being released. Bail generally
was not available, and the law prohibits it in cases of narcotics and major offenses (offenses
that “affect or put at risk” the public, punishable by 3 to 35 years’ imprisonment).
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Like most South American countries, Ecuador does not allow prisoners to vote. Voting
rights can be suspended depending on the severity of the crime. Sources did not say whether
their voting rights were restored after release.
Visitation. Visiting arrangements appear to be varied and flexible. Lawyers and families are
allowed to visit. Caitlin Dunklee, a student from New York’s Hunter College described her
visits to Litoral, the nation’s largest prison located in Guayaquil. She simply bribed a guard
with whiskey to enter, and became a familiar face on the prison grounds, with no one objecting.
On a second trip to Ecuador, she brought medical and sanitary supplies that she purchased with
donations. She reported that visitors, lawyers and even various vendors come and go at all
hours.
In about 2004, the men’s section of Litoral Prison held 1100 prisoners and the women’s section
held 325, plus about 60 children who have nowhere else to go. The entire complex was designed
to hold 600 prisoners. Women may visit the men’s side for conjugal visits lasting up to eight
hours. No condoms are provided, nor is there any education about AIDS or sexually transmitted
diseases.

Article 29. It is the duty of the individual so to conduct oneself in relation to
others that each and everyone may fully form and develop his personality.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

55

El Salvador

$an

Ivador.

-Sa Miguel

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. There is a public defender system of providing counsel to indigent defendants.
Juveniles. The age of majority is 18. There are separate prisons for juveniles, though those
sentenced before the age of 18 remain in these juvenile centres indefinitely beyond the age of
18. There are calls for a separate, intermediate space for such juveniles.
Death Penalty. There is no death penalty. There are cases of summary executions inside the
prisons, often unresolved. Technically, the maximum sentence is 35 years, though in many
cases numerous sentences are added together, leaving a total of 100’s of years. Sentences are
extended if inmates are implicated in internal disturbances.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. The prison system is national. All prisons are part of the national system. Each of
the 14 departments (states) has at least one. There are a couple of maximum security institutions,
plus a couple of prisons for women, and a medical prison, for a total of 19 prisons, besides the
holding cells at local police barracks. The statistics for “procesados” versus “condenados” vary
from 30% - 90%. As of 31 August 2005, the official figures were: condenados, 8663; procesados,
3831. Only four or five prisons in the system are exclusively one or the other, though technically
and legally, all should be. In the case of gang members and ex-police officers, the populations
are mixed in the same “recintos” (open cell-block areas). Each of the two main rival gangs has
two prisons designated exclusively for them, and there is one for ex-police officers.
Standards. There are written prison standards. The director of each prison is responsible for
enforcing these, with serious cases being referred to the national director.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Regulations are established at the national level, though these are enforced with
some discretion at the local level. These are often posted somewhere in the prison. There are
mechanisms for lodging complaints, though non-conformity with the whole system of order
and discipline has provoked numerous internal strikes and riots over the past couple of years,
often concurrently in several prisons, plus a number of external protests, generally organized
and conducted by family members.
Prisoner Abuse. Solitary confinement is used as a disciplinary measure. More serious cases
involve transferal to one of the two maximum security institutions. There has been much protest,
on the part of inmates, family members and human rights organizations, against the arbitrary
nature of these transferals, as well as against the legality/constitutionality of the measures
implemented in these prisons, including a case brought before the Inter-American Court.
56

SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. There is minimal health care provided. Nobody—much less prisoners—receives
adequate health care in El Salvador (unless one is able to obtain it through the private system,
unavailable to prisoners).
Rehab Programs. Prisons do have work, education and recreation programs, though these
are available for a minority of prisoners. “Work” programs would be primarily production
workshops. Educational opportunities, besides these occupational workshops (carpentry, bakery,
tailoring, etc), would generally include grades 1-9, though high school is occasionally available,
usually by correspondence. Recreational space generally includes a small soccer field, a
basketball court and a weight-lifting area. These spaces must be shared by the usually very
over-crowded prison population.
Reentry Programs. There is a relatively-new trial program for inmates to work outside the
prison during the day, for a minimal number of inmates. On the basis of conduct, attitude and
the completion of programs made available in the prisons (diplomas for such programs are in
great demand), inmates have a right to apply for half-time or two-thirds time release. The latter
is more commonly granted than the former.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Prisoners do not have the right to vote. Following release from prison, it’s understood
that this right is restored, provided they have been able to obtain their new “DUI”, a multipurpose ID card, recently implemented.
Visitation. Visiting privileges have been reduced in the past year or two, as a means of punishing
protesters and establishing order. Such restrictions include the length of visit (generally reduced
to 4 hours, twice per week), the number of visitors permitted at a time (generally 1 or 2),
besides stricter security checks upon entry, including photo ID, highly restricted entry of food
items and other gifts, and undignified (and often unhealthy) vaginal or anal checks. “Visitas
intimas” are permitted for many male inmates, once approved on the basis of the length and
stability of the relationship, and a series of medical examinations. It’s believed that female
inmates are not granted the same right. The state does not provide transportation for visitors.

Article 11.2 No one
may be the object of
arbitrary or abusive
interference with
his private life, his
family, his home, or
his correspondence,
or of unlawful attacks
on his honor or
reputation.
American Convention
on Human Rights, 1969

57

Grenada
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. According to report of the U.S. Secretary of State, “the law provides for the right
of fair public trial which is generally observed. There is a presumption of innocence. The court
appoints attorneys for indigents only in cases of murder or other capital crimes. In other cases
that reach the appellate stage, the court appoints a lawyer if the defendant was not represented
previously, or reappoints earlier counsel if the appellant no longer could afford the lawyers
services. With the exception of persons charged with a killing and foreign born drug suspects,
the court grants most defendants bail while awaiting trial.”
Juveniles. There are no inmates under the age of 18.
Death Penalty. They are de facto without a death penalty. The last execution was in 1978.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. There is one prison which houses both pre-sentence and sentenced inmates. In
2/22/05, there were 237 inmates over the age of 18, 41 of whom were pre-sentence, 19 were
women. None were under 18.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Prisoner Abuse. Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment
are prohibited by law, and there were no confirmed reports that government officials employed
them. However, there were occasional allegations that police beat persons being detained.
Flogging, a legal form of punishment, was rare but was used as punishment for sex crimes,
which accounted for 50 percent of court cases.1
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Grenada is not in the Rottinghaus list of countries that permit its prisoners to vote.2
SOURCES:
1
<http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61728.htm>
2
<www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf>

58

Article 14. Every person has the right to work, under proper conditions,
and to follow his vocation freely, insofar as existing conditions of employment permit.
Every person who works has the right to receive such remuneration as will,
in proportion to his capacity and skill, assure him of a standard of living
suitable for himself and for his family.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

59

Guatemala

'FInO

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. The public defender system is the Institute of
the Public Penal Defense. It functions at the time offenders
enter into the system. A defender is nominated to give them
immediate attention. After that, depending on the crime, the
case is given to a special unit inside the Institute. Each
defender has to litigate an average of 15 cases per month. This means there are not enough
public defenders at the institution.
Juveniles. Young people are considered adults for the purposes of the criminal justice system
at 18 years. The juvenile population is kept separately from the adults in different facilities.
Death Penalty. The penal system includes the death penalty. There are 34 persons on death
row. Presently there is a moratorium and there has not been any execution since 2000.
Legally, they do not have sentences of life without possibility of parole, but in fact, they do,
since the maximum sanction is 50 years. and some times they prescribe more than one sentence.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. All prisons are state prisons. There are 12 pre-trial prisons and 6 for sentenced
prisoners. There are also 23 centers in charge of the National Civil Police, which according to
the law, is illegal.
To June 2004 in the Department of Guatemala, there were a total of 8480 persons in deprivation
of freedom: 4857 are in preventive prison (pre-trial) and 3623 in accomplishment of sanction.
Standards. There are no written prison standards. There are rulings from about 1950, which
are not applied. A penitentiary law is being promoted from about 10 years ago, without
possibilities of being approved at the Congress of the Republic.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Prisons do not have written rules and regulations governing prisoner behavior.
Since there is neither law nor rulings, grievances are not possible. Prisoners exercise authority
but without any coordination with the authorities.
Prisoner Abuse. Guatemala does not expressly prohibit corporal punishment, torture, dark
cells, or any other cruel, unusual or degrading treatment, since as said before, there are no
regulations. There is only Article 19 of the Constitution that regulates this matter.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. The prisons do not provide adequate health care for prisoners.

60

Rehab Programs. The prisons do not have known work, education and recreation programs.
There are some small programs promoted by the prisoners which could disappear with the new
security policies being implemented.
Reentry Programs. They do not have any known programs for pre-release or re-entry
assistance for prisoners.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Legally only those who are sentenced can not exercise the right to vote, but in Guatemala
this right is denied to all prisoners, including those in pre-trial.
Visitation. For men, there is a visiting system for friends and relatives; and there are marital
visits without having to prove legal marriage by documentation. For women there are only
family visits, - even though in practice they receive visits from friends. There is no right for
marital visits for women.
At the present time there is a method in process of implementation which consists of the
following: for those in pre-trial, the Director of the Penitentiary system, is requesting a list of
8 persons that can visit them, to whom a special identification is to be made in order for them
to be the only ones authorized to visit the reclused. By these means the Director intends to
identify the people that come to visit and to limit the number of visitors, restricting the free
access to this right and also as a manner of control.

Article 24. Every person has the right to submit respectful petitions to any
competent authority, for reasons of either general or private interest, and
the right to obtain a prompt decision thereon.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

61

egan

Guyana
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. There is no comprehensive public defender system in Guyana. Though their
government does recognize the right to representation, it only provides it in murder cases. In
lesser cases it is confined to those who can pay for the services of a lawyer.
Although the law recognizes the right to legal counsel, in practice, with the exception of cases
involving capital crimes, it was limited to those who could afford to pay. There is no public
defender system; however, a defendant in a murder case would receive a court-appointed attorney
if the case reached the High Court.
The Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic, with government and private support, provided advice to
persons who could not afford a lawyer, particularly victims of domestic violence and violence
against women.
Juveniles. Juvenile offenders aged 16 and older were placed in the adult prison population.
Juvenile offenders aged 15 and younger were held in the NOC, which originally was conceived
as a training and rehabilitation facility rather than a juvenile detention center. There were
complaints that juvenile runaways or those out of their guardians’ care were placed with juveniles
who had committed crimes. The NOC facility had multiple problems including staffing capacity
and capabilities.
When any person apparently has the age of sixteen years and is committed to any prison, the
minister may order such prisoner to be transferred to an approved school, there to be kept as if
he had been committed to such school by the court. According to the U.S. Department of State
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002, released by the Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor March 31, 2003, police continued to place juvenile offenders in a
fairly adequate separate facility; however, female juvenile offenders were held with adult
prisoners.
Death Penalty. Guyana has a death penalty, and currently there are approximately 25 people
on death row. In 2002 there were no executions. There are life sentences in Guyana without
possibility of parole.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. Guyana does not have separate federal and state prisons. It does have precinct
jails, but those are considered holding tanks, since some prisoners have been held two years
there due to the Guyana justice system being overburdened. It holds approximately 1524 pretrial detainees at any given time. There are separate detention facilities though many human
rights groups claim they exhibit poor conditions.

62

Since there were no facilities in Georgetown to house female offenders aged 16 and over,
women awaiting trial were held in the same facilities as men. The Prison Authority reported
that there were 69 female inmates in the women’s prison located in New Amsterdam.
Although precinct jails were intended to serve only as pretrial holding areas, some suspects
were detained there as long as two years, waiting for the overburdened judicial system to act
on their cases.
The law requires that a person arrested and held for more than 72 hours be brought before a
court to be charged, and this was generally observed in practice. Bail was generally available,
except in capital offenses and narcotics trafficking cases. Although narcotics trafficking was
not a bailable offense, some magistrates granted bail to drug defendants.
Although the law provides criminal detainees prompt access to a lawyer of their choice, as
well as access to family members, in practice these rights were not fully respected. Police
routinely required permission from the senior investigating officer, who was seldom on the
premises, before permitting counsel access to a client. There were reports that senior officers
refused to grant prompt access to prisoners.
Lengthy pretrial detention, due primarily to judicial inefficiency, staff shortages, and lengthy
legal procedures remained a problem, despite the chief justice’s efforts to have the courts deal
more quickly with inmates on remand. Pretrial detainees made up approximately one-third of
the prison population, and the average length of pretrial detention was 18 to 20 months.
Standards. There are written prison standards under the “Directorate of Prisons” and its
director. However enforcement is the subject of a great deal of international criticism. As a
general rule the enforcement of the standards is considered weak.
Prison and jail conditions were poor, particularly in police holding cells. However, the GHRA
stated that “prisons have improved immeasurably in the last decade” and met minimum
international standards. The Prison Authority reported that there were 1485 prisoners in five
facilities, nearly half of whom were in Georgetown’s Camp Street Prison, the country’s largest.
That prison, expanded to hold 500 inmates, held an average of 700 prisoners during the year,
far below the one thousand it used to hold.
Although sanitary and medical conditions in police holding facilities varied, these conditions
were worse than those in the prisons. Some jails were bare, overcrowded, and damp. Few had
beds, washbasins, furniture, or utensils. Meals normally were inadequate; friends and relatives
routinely had to bring detainees food and water. Cells rarely had sanitary facilities, and staff
members sometimes escorted inmates outside the cells to use holes in the floor for toilets.
Inmates generally slept on a thin pallet on the concrete floor.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Every prisoner shall be subject to Prison Rules, and shall also be subject to
prison disciple during the whole of his imprisonment, whether he is or is not within the limits
of any prison. Where any prisoner commits any major prison offences and on such prisoner
being found guilty thereof, on an enquiry before the Director, the Director may impose any or
all of the following punishments: reduction of diet not exceeding fourteen consecutive days;
suspension or postponement of any privileges for any period not exceeding ninety days;
forfeiture of remission for any period not exceeding ninety days.
63

Any prisoner may, within 48 hours of the imposition of any punishment, appeal in writing to
the Director who may allow the appeal, or reduce, confirm or increase such punishment as he
may see it. No prisoner shall be punished until he has had an opportunity of hearing the charge
against him and making his defense.
Prisoner Abuse. The Constitution prohibits torture; however, police continue to abuse
suspects. The GHRA continued to consider mistreatment of prisoners by prison officers a
problem. Moreover, inmates, attorneys, and judicial authorities provided credible evidence
that police and correctional officers frequently ignored the actions of other inmates who beat,
robbed, or otherwise mistreated “problem” prisoners.
Guyana does not prohibit corporal punishment, but torture is specifically outlawed; however
this is only in theory as many believe it is still practiced. This is not to say it is anything
outrageous as there were no reports of any incidents as of 2004.
Attempts were made to give all prison officers human rights training, and the senior level
management of the Prison Service made serious efforts to combat cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment in the prisons. The GHRA did not consider mistreatment of prisoners a problem in
the prison system.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. The Chief Medical officer shall assign in respect of each prison, a government
medical officer who shall have control generally of the health and medical welfare of the
prisoners and the sanitation of the prison; and such medical officer shall perform such other
duties as may be directed by this Act or by Prison Rules.
According to the U.S. Country Report the prison sanitary and medical conditions are deplorable,
particularly in “temporary” cells. These cells are overcrowded, damp and bare, lacking the
most basic amenities, such as beds, washbasins, furniture, utensils and plumbing facilities. The
toilet is nothing more than a hole in the floor. At night, prisoners lie down on a thin pallet on the
floor. As for food, meals are not provided, so the prisoner is dependent upon food brought to
him by friends and relatives.
Some prisons officers received basic medical training, but there was no doctor to perform
regular visits at any of the prisons. The prison system faced issues of staffing constraints and
lack of resources.
Rehabilitation Programs. Conditions were generally adequate in the only women’s prison,
which is at New Amsterdam, in a facility that held men and women in separate dormitory-type
buildings. There were a number of vocational and educational courses. All prisoners may with
the approval of the director be taken beyond the limits of a prison and put to such labor as may
be prescribed by Prison Rules.
Reentry Programs. The Parole Board is an advisory body to the Minister of Home Affairs,
to help him determine whether a prisoner is eligible to be released on licence (Parole) and what
conditions should be attached to such a release. It is a system that is designed to allow
rehabilitated prisoners a chance to serve part of their sentence in the community. In this way
they are allowed a chance to be reintegrated into society gradually and conditionally.

64

A prisoner serving a determinate sentence may apply for parole once he/she has served onethird or 12 months of the sentence, which ever is longer. Additionally, for a prisoner serving an
indeterminate sentence (life), he/she may apply for parole after serving 10 years of the sentence.
Parole is not an event; it is a process. It has four stages each overseen by a different group or a
person.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Guyana is not in the Rottinghaus list of countries that permit its prisoners to vote.1
Visitation. The Guyana Human Rights Association urged that female inmates’ responsibility
for children be recognized in terms of length of sentence and facilities for family contact.
Source:
1

<www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf>

Article 25. Every individual who has been deprived of his liberty has the
right to have the legality of his detention ascertained without delay by a
court, and the right to be tried without undue delay or, otherwise to be
released. He also has the right to humane treatment during the time he is in
custody.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

65

-

Haiti

~•

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Detainees are generally allowed access to a lawyer of their own choosing. Many
detainees cannot afford the services of an attorney, and the government does not provide free
counsel.
The constitution also expressly denies police and judicial authorities the right to interrogate
suspects unless legal counsel or a representative of the suspect’s choice are present, or they
waive this right; this right also is abridged in practice.
Despite the efforts of local human rights groups and the international community to provide
free legal aid, many interrogations occur without presence of counsel. However, some defendants
have access to counsel during trials. While the constitution provides defendants with a
presumption of innocence and the right to be present at trial, to confront witnesses against
them, and to present witnesses and evidence in their own behalf, in practice judges frequently
deny defendants these rights.
Juveniles. By law, young people are treated as adults in the criminal justice system when
they reach age 17. In practice, they may face adult court at a younger age. Due to lack of
available space in police facilities, minors and adults often were held in the same cell. Juveniles
are to be kept separate from adults in prisons.
After a November 2005 visit to study the situation of children and adolescents in the country,
a joint delegation from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the IACHR criticized the
“prolonged periods of detention without charges being brought against them and virtually without
judicial controls, including the imprisonment of 10-year-old children, in flagrant violation of
the law.”
Death Penalty. There is no death penalty in Haiti. They do have life sentences.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. The prison population numbered 3670 as of November, 2005. Approximately 89
percent of prisoners still awaited a judicial determination on their cases; only 417 had been
sentenced. The situation was particularly grim at the National Penitentiary, where out of 1833
prisoners, 73 were sentenced, about 4 percent of the population. The prison population did not
reflect the large number of persons who were held in police stations around the country in
prolonged preventive detention for longer than the constitutionally mandated 48-hour time
period. Due to poor record keeping at the police stations, it was difficult to estimate the number
of people held in preventive detention. Male and female prisoners are held separately.
Overcrowding prevented the separation of violent from nonviolent prisoners or convicts from
those in pre-trial detention. Many were incarcerated in temporary holding cells, particularly in
the provinces.
66

Police often apprehended persons without warrants or on warrants not issued by a duly authorized
official. The authorities frequently detained individuals on unspecified charges or pending
investigation. Bail is available at the discretion of the investigative judge. Bail hearings are not
automatic, and judges usually granted bail only for minor cases and based on compelling
humanitarian grounds such as a need for medical attention.
Standards. The prison system has a code of regulations and general discipline which conform
to national and international law.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. None of the material we found mentioned written rules or grievance procedures.
Prisoner Abuse. Members of the Haitian National Police (HNP) continued to commit arbitrary
and unlawful killings. With rare exceptions, there was no follow up or investigation into these
killings.
Although the law prohibits such actions, members of the security forces continued to violate
prohibitions against torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Police officers
use excessive and sometimes deadly force in making arrests or controlling demonstrations and
rarely are punished for such acts. Members of the HNP also used excessive force, such as
shooting and using teargas, to suppress demonstrations.
The Carrefour police station (also called Omega) was known as a center of torture and beatings
of detainees. On May 6, 2005 a team from the National Network of Defenders of Human
Rights (RNDDH) visited the station and spoke with 30 detainees, who denounced the
mistreatment they had received. The delegation observed scars on some detainees, apparently
from beatings they received while being arrested.
There were credible reports of disappearances after arrests by the HNP during 2005. In December
2004, the HNP used excessive force to quell a riot at the National Penitentiary; 7 prisoners
were killed and 17 injured. Allegations of human rights abuses by the HNP, although diminished,
continued throughout 2005.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Prisoners and detainees continued to suffer from a lack of basic hygiene,
malnutrition, poor quality health care, and, in some facilities, 24-hour confinement. Most prisons
periodically suffered from lack of water, especially in the provinces. The incidence of preventable
diseases such as beriberi, AIDS, and tuberculosis increased.
The DAP conducted objective testing of prison physicians and nurses to exclude those who
were inadequately trained. Doctors were available in the capital but were less frequently available
to those incarcerated in the provinces. Nurses did not conduct daily checkups on the physical
condition of inmates. Dispensary supplies were limited, and family members often had to
purchase needed medication.
Rehabilitation Programs. Detention and prison facilities are severely overcrowded. Many
of those incarcerated do not get six hours of out-of-cell time, let alone educational or recreational
programming.
67

Re-entry Programs. We are not aware of any formal pre-release or re-entry programming.
Release from prison is haphazard. In Port-au-Prince, most are eventually released through
informal intervention of a legal official in response to a bribe or community or personal pressure,
or after they have served the equivalent of the sentence they would have earned had they been
proven guilty.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Prisoners are not allowed to vote. There are no restrictions on voting following
imprisonment.
Visitation. Visits are allowed daily in prisons. Visits are more limited in detention facilities.
There are no private family or conjugal visits.
SOURCES:
1
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 8, 2006.
2
Incarceration and Enfranchisement: International Practices, Impact and Recommendations for Reform.
3
Prolonged Pretrial Detention in Haiti.

Article 26. Every
accused person is
presumed to be innocent
until proved guilty.
Every person accused
of an offense has the
right to be given an
impartial and public
hearing, and to be tried
by courts previously
established in
accordance with
pre-existing laws,
and not to receive cruel,
infamous or unusual
punishment.
American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

68

Honduras
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. A public defender program provides assistance to those unable to afford an adequate
defense. There are over 232 public defenders that provided free legal services to 45% of the
prison population in the main national penitentiary in Tamara during 2004. It is difficult for
public defenders to meet the volume of demands of an unautomated, under funded, laborintensive criminal justice system. Under the new Criminal Procedures Code, cases cannot
proceed if a suspect does not have legal representation. There were 50,551 persons represented
by public defenders during 2003 and 39,505 represented by public defenders during 2004.
This is roughly one public defender per 150 detainees. The demands placed on the public
defender system has severely overtaxed its resources.
The new Criminal Procedures Code provides defendants with additional rights that reduce the
likelihood of being detained, including strict timelines for actions during the criminal process.
The public defender uses this code to assist detainees in their defense and in assuring their
rights. The new code reduced the number of pre-trial detainees and established procedures so
that detainees will not be held in prison beyond their maximum prison term for that crime. By
law, backlogged cases must be resolved by 2006.
Juveniles. Young people are considered adults at age eighteen. The Honduran prison system
does separate juveniles from adults in prisons and houses them in separate facilities. The
Honduran government operates four sites: one for girls at Tamara and three for boys at Tamara,
San Pedro Sula and another near Tegucigalpa for a total of 399 imprisoned children. Casa
Alianza reported that the Honduran government responded quickly to complaints of minors in
adult prisons and no longer routinely held juvenile offenders in adult prisons.
Death Penalty. Honduras does not have a death penalty. Honduras is abolitionist for all
crimes.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. There is only one national prison system under the management of the Secretary
of Security with 24 prison facilities throughout Honduras. 63.5% of the 11,589 total prisoners
were pre-trial detainees (figure does not include pre-trial detainees in police jails) in 2005.
This is a 15.1% decrease in pre-trial detainees in prison from 2002 although the overall percent
is still high. Pre-trial detainees and sentenced prisoners are often housed together.
Standards. There are statutory prison standards, and these rules are enforced by the Secretary
of Security. There seems to be little political will to enforce them, and extreme difficulty in
applying them to prison sites most of which are overcrowded. In 2004, the International Centre
for Prison Studies gave the occupancy level (based on official capacity) at 123.7%, but other
sources place it at about double occupancy.
69

BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Prisoner Abuse. The Constitution prohibits torture and other cruel treatment. Prison
conditions, however, are harsh and prisoners suffer from overcrowding, malnutrition and a
lack of adequate sanitation.
Prison disturbances occurred throughout the new century in the San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa,
La Ceiba, Choluteca and other prison facilities. Many of those prisoners killed during these
disturbances were young people aged 18-23 years. Some reports by human rights organizations
refer to these disturbances as massacres and social cleansings, since many of the youth were
labeled gang members. Prison riots, rebellions and fires have occurred over the past 5 years
throughout many of the prisons across Honduras. As many as 108 prisoners were killed in the
prison fire at San Pedro Sula in 2004 mostly because the authorities could not find the keys to
unlock the cells.
Violence earmarks relationships between guards and prisoners. At El Porvenir prison in 2003,
68 prisoners were executed by state police, soldiers, and prison guards as no weapons were
found among the prisoner victims. Bishop Emiliani of San Pedro Sula referred to the deaths at
El Porvenir as assassinations.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Honduran prisoners receive less than adequate services and sometimes are at
greater risk for certain infectious diseases. Honduras has the 5th highest TB case notification
rate in Latin America and the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in Central America, although
this HIV/AIDS population is concentrated primarily along the northern coast of Honduras.
There is a higher than average incidence of HIV/AIDS and TB in Honduran prisons.
According to a GORGAS TB study, TB is approximately 18 times higher than the civil sector
and HIV infection among TB cases is 17% vs. 8% among the general population. The Honduran
Health Ministry study of 2000 prisoners in the year 2000 showed that 6.8% of these prisoners
were HIV positive and that figure is five times the national average. Many non-infected prisoners
are at higher risk for TB and HIV infection because of overcrowded conditions and malnutrition
which are risk factors for TB and HIV/AIDS. TB can be transmitted through casual contact
and both diseases do not show their tell tale signs until the diseases have progressed. Prisoners
can contract these diseases and not know they have them and infect others when they return to
society.
Honduras spends approximately 9 lempiras ($.48 US) a day on food and medicine for each
prisoner.The State of Honduras has participated in international workshops and training
programs aimed at increasing knowledge of TB and NTP (National TB Program) guidelines
among medical students and medical doctors. Importantly, this WHO (World Health
Organization) project has integrated the Honduran prison system into the NTP and provided
training programs to prison staff and facilitated the implementation of DOTS (a detection test
for TB using sputum) in 17 prison facilities. This project has done much to raise TB awareness
among prison staff and prisoners resulting in the creation of isolation wards, provision of food
supplements, and assignment of health staff to prisons by the Ministry of Security. There is a
system of evaluation and data collection in place. The Comayagua prison participated in a
Canadian Red Cross prevention program aimed at teaching prisoners what AIDS is and what
can be done to prevent it. The use of condoms was taught as part of the program. Police jails
70

suffer from poor sanitation as well as inadequate medical services. Some jails are small and
have buckets in front of each cell: one for potable water; the other, human waste.
Rehabilitation Programs. Most of the 24 prison facilities are state farms growing beans
and grains. Others offer basic literacy but little else in educational opportunities. Some facilities
have basketball courts while others allow soccer.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Voting rights of pre-trial detainees and sentenced prisoners are suspended during their
incarceration and are not automatically restored upon release. Voting rights can be restored,
but the Honduran Supreme Court has set certain conditions that must be met before these rights
are reclaimed by ex-offenders returning to society.
Visitation. Visiting occurs on a regular basis and prisoners’ families and friends are allowed
to bring food and clothing. In many cases prisoners rely on outside help to survive, since the
prison system does not provide adequate food nor sometimes even mattresses. Male prisoners
with money routinely buy private cells, decent food, and permission for conjugal visits.
The State of Honduras does not provide transportation to the facilities. Male prisoners who can
afford to pay for permission have conjugal visits, however, female prisoners do not have conjugal
visit privileges.
SOURCES:
<HOPEeternal.com> Dr. Rod Smith in an e-mail to Eileen Kennedy U.S. Department of State Honduras Country
Reports on Human Rights Practice-2004 (2005)
U.S. Department of State, Honduras, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2004 (2005)
Amnesty International Honduras Report (2005)
International Centre for Prison Studies (2005)
Central American University, Revista Envio, “Has ‘Social Cleansing’ of Gang Members Spread to Honduran Jails?”
(2003)
New York Times, “Cover-Up Found in Honduras Prison Killings” (2003)
Amnesty International Honduras Report (2005)
Phone call to the Honduran Embassy in Washington, D.C. (2006)
gorgastb@uab.edu > GORGAS TB initiative “Collaborative Project for the Strengthening of TB Control Strategies
in Honduras (2003),” Canadian Red Cross, “Taking the Fight Against AIDS to the Honduran Prison System”
(2004).

71

Article 20. Every person having legal capacity is entitled to participate in
the government of his country, directly or through his representatives, and
to take part in popular elections, which shall be by secret ballot, and shall
be honest, periodic, and free.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

72

Mont

Jamaica

0 Bay

•

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. In Jamaica, there is a system for providing counsel to indigent defendants. Legal
Aid attorneys are available to defend the indigent, except those charged with certain offenses
under the Money Laundering Act or Dangerous Drugs Act. The Public Defender may bring
cases for persons who have had their constitutional rights violated. The Public Defender’s
Office contracts private attorneys to represent clients; however, at times funds have been
insufficient to meet the demand, and attorneys sometimes requested payment from clients.
Juveniles. The Constitution prohibits the incarceration of children in adult prisons; however,
in practice, some juveniles under the age of 18 are held with adults because juvenile facilities
are overcrowded and do not have beds available when required. There are rules in place to limit
the amount of time that juveniles can spend in adult detention facilities. Jamaica has recently
passed the Childcare and Protection Act to bring the country into compliance with the Convention
on the Rights of the Child which they have signed and ratified. This includes the requirement
to make detention of children a measure of last resort.
Death Penalty. Murder is a capital crime, except for pregnant women, persons over 70 years
of age and those who committed crimes when under eighteen years old.
The last hanging in Jamaica took place in 1988. There are currently 60 people on death row.
Jamaica is a British Independent Territory that retains the death penalty, but for which the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the final court of appeal. In 1993, the London-based
Privy Council decided that five years on death row constituted unusual and inhumane
punishment. It ordered their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, thus establishing a
five-year limit for prisoners on death row. The UK Privy Council struck down the mandatory
death penalty for murder in Jamaica on July 7, 2004, winning a reprieve for more than 60
prisoners on death row. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council found that the 1992
Offences Against the Person Act, which introduced the mandatory death sentence for capital
murder was inconsistent with section 17(1) of Jamaica’s constitution. According to the Law
Lords, any death sentence passed since the Act was introduced in 1992 must be held to be
illegal. This meant that all those condemned to death following that date had to have their case
returned to the Supreme Court for sentencing.
Jamaica does not have sentences of life without possibility of parole. All prisoners have the
possibility of review of their sentences, though prisoners serving life sentences who are paroled
will remain on parole for the rest of their lives.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. There is one prison system holding 4825 prisoners (end of 2005), of whom less
than 17% are pre-trial.
73

Standards. The 1985 Corrections Act included provisions governing standards and allows
for inspection of correctional institutions by the Commissioner of Corrections. In general the
government allows private groups, voluntary and religious organizations, local and international
human rights organizations, and the media to visit prisons and monitor prison conditions.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. There are written regulations governing prisoner behavior and proscribed
punishments for different infractions. Prisoners can appeal their punishment to the Corrections
Commissioner.
Prisoner Abuse. Jamaica has signed the major international conventions and their laws
prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. However,
reports of physical abuse of prisoners by guards continue, despite efforts by the Government to
remove abusive guards and improve procedures. There were also credible reports that police
abuse detainees in custody. Reports from human rights bodies complain that prison conditions
are often poor with overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.
The homophobic culture of Jamaica can lead to abuse in prison. Male prisoners deemed by
prison wardens to be homosexual are held in a separate facility for their protection. There have
been numerous reports of violence against homosexual prisoners, perpetrated both by the
wardens and by other prisoners.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. There are medical officers responsible for healthcare in prisons, but human
rights groups report that medical care is often inadequate and that diets are poor.
Rehabilitation Programs. There are vocational and work release programs available.
Recently, computer labs have been established in some facilities so prisoners can learn computer
skills prior to release.
Reentry Programs. The Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Bill and the
Corrections Act were enacted on December 2, 1985. The act established gainful employment
programs for prisoners, and pre-release and after-care hostels for the rehabilitation and social
integration of prisoners.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Pretrial prisoners and prisoners serving sentences of less than six months are allowed
to vote.
Visitation. Families can visit and prisoners rely upon family and friends to supplement their

diets, provide clothing, and supply personal care and hygiene items. While officials have
expressed support for the idea of conjugal visits in recent years (in part to stem the spread of
HIV-AIDS), the plans have not been put into effect, as the current commissioner claims that
facilities are inadequate.
In general the government allows private groups, voluntary and religious organizations, local
and international human rights organizations, and the media to visit prisons and monitor prison
conditions, and such visits took place during the year.
74

Article 8.3 A confession of guilt by the accused shall be valid only if
it is made without coercion of any kind.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

75

~, '\
•
ch ;;~

Mexico

-

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

-

~n

Indigents. If no private attorney is available, a public defender is appointed (Constitution,
Article 20, Section IX). At the federal level, public defenders are attached to the Public
Defenders’ Federal Institute (independent of the federal courts). At the state level, especially
in Mexico City, public defenders are part of the Legal Services General Office. In Mexico
City, they are attached to the Federal District government’s Advisory and Legal Services office.
However, information found at www.state.gov states that the public defender system does not
work. (a) Pre-trial detainees do not have immediate access to an attorney, nor any private
discussions when they are available. (b) public defenders often represent multiple clients
simultaneously (the public defender shows up in the court to go on record, but then leaves). (c)
No autonomous public defender services. (d) Indigenous defendants often have no translator
(although law provides for one).
Juveniles. Juveniles are from 11 to 18 years old, and are held in custody outside of the prison
system. In 15 States, youths ages 16 to 18 are eligible for punishment as adults. According to
information at www.state.gov, there are 54 juvenile reformatories in the country and many
include dormitories with metallic mesh that resembles cages.
Death Penalty. According to an amendment made to Article 22, the death penalty is prohibited
in Mexico. The death penalty has not been used since 1937. Sentences have a maximum and
minimum for each crime, but no mention of life without parole.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. Mexico has separate federal (national) and state prison systems. Pre-trial prisoners
and sentenced prisoners are housed in separate facilities. As of April 2005, 201,931 inmates
were held; this does not include juveniles (2532). Out of the prison total, 41% or 82,791 are
pre-trial detainees.
Standards. There are written prison standards. There are internal accountability offices within
the penitentiary system’s administrative structure. They are responsible for investigating
misconduct by penitentiary officials. Also, human rights commissions investigate issues of
inadequate treatment. The Mexican Constitution’s Article 18, Paragraph 2, establishes principles
for work, training and education. The Federation and Federal District have established wages
according to work and education, as rehabilitation treatment. Prisons provide free medical
care.
According to information at www.state.gov, prison conditions are bad, especially in rural, poorer
States. Abuses include inmates having to purchase food and medicine, coercion, violence,
drugs and arms trafficking, bribery, and lack of control by officials to the point that inmates
were exercising authority over them. Problems are especially bad in local and municipal jails.
76

BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Mexico does have written rules and regulations governing prisoner behavior.
According to the Regulation of the Federal Centers for Social Readjustment, all rules regarding
behavior of prisoners will be strictly followed in order to preserve order. Authorities will only
be allowed to use force under extreme circumstances. According to chapter XI, when the rules
established are violated, the resulting consequences are established as:
I. Private reprimands
II. Public reprimands
III. Partial or total suspension of stimulation
IV. Change of dormitory
V. Suspension of their family or intimate visits for a determined period of time
VI. Relocation to the section of special treatment according to the
Manual of Disciplinary Stimulation
Prisoner Abuse. According to Human Rights Watch (12/08/04), torture may be endemic in
the system; there were 588 documented cases between 1990 and 2003.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Free health care is mandated to be provided to inmates (see Standards, above).
Rehabilitation Programs. Work and education are mandated to be provided to inmates;
however, no mention of recreation programs has been found to date (see Standards, above).
Re-entry Programs. Having a “profession, occupation, job or an honest source of income”
is taken into consideration when a conditional release under parole is being considered.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Incarcerated persons do not have the right to vote. According to Article 46 of the
Federal Penal Code, the penalty of prison suspends the political rights of a person.
Visitation. According to Chapter IV of the Federal Regulation of the Center for Social
Readjustment, visiting will only be allowed on behalf of friends and family of the intern,
authorities, defense team and accredited religious ministers. Family visiting will have as a
goal, the conservation and strengthening of the ties between interns and people in the exterior
who have family or friendship relations to the intern. Intimate visits are allowed with the purpose
of maintaining marital relations in a healthy and moral way, and will be previously analyzed
socially and medically. The defense team will have the right to visit their defendant at any time,
following the rules established. At any point, the interns have the right to request a suspension
or cancellation of their authorized visits. Family and intimate visiting will be allowed only
under the dates and times set up by the Regulations.
SOURCES:
<http//www.state.gov>
International Centre for Prison Studies
U.S. Dept. of Justice; Bureau of Justice Statistics

77

Article 7.4 Anyone who is detained shall be informed of the reasons for
his detention and shall be promptly notified of the charge or charges
against him.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.
78

Nicaragua
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Defendants have the right to legal counsel at their
trials. Although indigents are entitled to pro bono counsel, public
defenders do not exist. In spite of the constitutional right to a
speedy trial, arrested persons often spend months in jail before
appearing in court. Under the 1991 law reforming penal
procedures, jury trials have been restored.

'~--L
"".- .

By law a prosecutor must accompany police making an arrest, and detainees have the right to
an attorney as soon as they are arrested. Police may hold a suspect legally for 48 hours before
they must bring the person before a judge to decide if charges should be brought. The judge
then either must order the accused released or transferred to jail. This law was observed more
closely than in the past, and few prisoners were held illegally beyond the 48-hour deadline.
During the 48 hours, the suspect does not have access to bail or to visits from family members.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. According to government statistics, there were 5589 inmates in prisons designed
to hold 5446 prisoners. Some prisons and police holding cells were significantly overcrowded
and lacked proper sanitation. The Managua women’s prison, with a capacity of 110, reportedly
held 170 prisoners in July. International donors and the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) worked with the police to improve conditions in holding cells.
Statistics from the Department of Prisons indicated that 16 percent of all prisoners awaiting
final verdicts were pretrial detainees, compared with 26 percent in 2002.
The only separate prison for women was in Managua. In the rest of the country, women were
housed in separate wings of prison facilities and were guarded by female custodians. Juveniles
were housed in separate prison wings and were on different schedules than adults for mealtime
and recreational activities.
Standards. A report issued by a human rights group in 1992 described conditions in the
national penitentiary system as “disastrous.” The report accused the government of inexcusable
indifference because it failed to allocate adequate funds. The prisoners were described as
suffering from lack of food, clothing, medicine, and medical treatment. Cases of malnutrition
were found as well as contaminated water. Although physical abuse in the penitentiaries was
rare, a high percentage of prisoners complained of torture and mistreatment in police detention
cells.
The quality of prison food remained poor, and malnutrition remained a problem in local jails
and police holding cells. Prison officials calculated that the daily expenditure per prisoner for
food was approximately $0.55 (9.2 cordobas). Many prisoners received additional food from
visitors. Conditions in jails and holding cells remained harsh. Many holding cells were dark,
poorly ventilated, unhygienic, and overcrowded. Suspects regularly were left in holding cells
during their trials, because budgetary shortfalls restricted the use of fuel for transfers to distant
courtrooms. At the Bluefields jail, there were 2 showers and 4 toilets for more than 100 prisoners.
The authorities occasionally released detainees when they could no longer feed them.
79

BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Prisoner Abuse. Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment
are prohibited by law, but there were credible reports that some police physically mistreated
detainees, particularly to obtain confessions. The IG’s office reported receiving 480 complaints
of human rights violations by police officers during the first half of the year, including unlawful
killings, and complaints forwarded by the Office of Civil Inspection for Professional
Responsibility. The IG’s Office found that 126 complaints had merit. The IG’s office punished
204 officers for violating human rights.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. The prison system remained underfunded, and medical supplies ranged from
inadequate to nonexistent. For the country’s 8 penitentiaries and 5,589 prisoners, the authorities
maintained a staff of 28 medical specialists. Prison authorities reported that 30 percent of
prisoners slept on metal bunks or mattresses on floors. A study carried out during the year by
the authorities of the National Penal System (SPN) revealed that for each of 431 prisoners with
serious mental and physical illnesses, the prison system had an average budget of $.18 (3
cordobas) per month to purchase medicine.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Nicaragua is not in the Rottinghaus list of countries that permit its prisoners to vote.1
Visitation. The government permitted prison visits by local and international human rights
observers, and such visits took place during the year.
SOURCES:

1

<www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf>

Article 5.4. Accused persons shall, save in exceptional circumstances, be
segregated from convicted persons, and shall be subject to separate
treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

80

Panama
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. There are three ways of helping the accused who have no funds to pay for legal
counsel: 1). Defensoria de Oficio del Organo Judicial (Official Defense Dept. of the Ministry
of Justice); 2). Defensoria Del Pueblo (City Ombudsman); 3). Centro de Consultas Populares
en algunas universidades. (In some universities there are groups which aid prisoners for free).
In Panama there is a system in place for indigent defendants. However, it is hopelessly ineffective
and overburdened. Indigent prisoners receive very poor counseling because of the severe shortage
of public defenders and the time available for those that are working.
Juveniles. At age 18 young people are considered adults for the purposes of the criminal
justice system. Juveniles are kept separate from adults in prisons. There are separate prisons
for juveniles.
Death Penalty. Panama does not have a death penalty or sentences of life without possibility
of parole. Maximum sentence for any crime is 20 years.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. The country does not have separate federal (national) and state prison systems.
The only segregation of prisoners is by sex. The sentenced are mixed with those waiting for
justice. Total prison population: 11,350. Sentenced: 4645. Waiting for justice: 6705. The
percentage of pre-trial prisoners is approximately 65 percent.
Standards. There are written prison standards but they are not adhered to.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Each prison has written rules and regulations governing prisoner behavior, but
they are not generally made known to the prisoners. They are enforced by guards without
equitable enforcement. Prisoners are able to make complaints to the central prison authority.
However, in practice, nothing will be accomplished.
Prisoner Abuse. Panama does not expressly prohibit corporal punishment, torture, dark
cells, or any other cruel, unusual or degrading treatment. There is no prohibition of anything.
Corporal punishment is allowed; cruel and unusual punishment is allowed; and degrading
treatment is practiced.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. The prisons do not provide adequate health care for prisoners. This is a
tremendous shame as prisoners die in captivity because no health care is given in most cases.
Prisoners at La Joyita and La Joya who get sick in the night do not get taken to see anyone for
81

treatment until morning hours. It is possible that medical attention is given if the prisoner is
lying on the floor and fellow prisoners beat on the iron bars and scream long enough.
Rehabilitation Programs. Prisons generally do not have work, education and recreation
programs, except at one prison – El Renacer.
Reentry Programs. Prisons normally do not have any programs for pre-release or re-entry
assistance for prisoners, but there has been some experimentation at one prison – El Renacer.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Pre-trial and/or sentenced prisoners do not have the right to vote. Voting rights are
restored automatically upon release.
Visitation. Visiting arrangements vary from prison to prison. This can be from 20 minutes
every two weeks – to weekly- and there are provisions for obtaining frequent special visits for
certain circumstances such as foreign family visits. The state does not provide transportation to
and from the prisons. In only one prison (El Renacer) do conjugal visits exist. Bribery helps to
achieve conjugal visits for those who are not married.

Article 3. Every person has the right freely to profess a religious faith, and
to manifest it and practice it both in public and in private.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

82

Paraguay
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. The Paraguayan Constitution provides for public
defenders (Article 17, Clause 6) for the indigent population.
Due to budgetary constraints, the government is unable to
fulfill this requirement and many poor defendants are still tried
without benefit of counsel.

Asunclon

Juveniles. Those held in prison up to the age of 20 are considered to be minors. As of the
2005 U.S. State Department report, minors are generally kept separate from adult prisoners
within the prison system.
Death Penalty. Paraguay does not have capital punishment (Article 4 in the Constitution).
There have been no legal executions since the constitution was adopted in 1992. They do not
have sentences of life without possibility of parole.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. Paraguay is a unitary government, and all available data shows only national prison
data. There are currently 12 prisons operated by the government, Tacumbu - the largest prison
and located in Asunción - and 11 other regional prisons. Pre-trial detainees (preventive
imprisonment) are constitutionally required to be kept in separate facilities from convicted
offenders (Article 21 of the Constitution). As they make up between 75 and 92% of the prison
population, this is not always possible, but it is generally the case.
Standards. While there are constitutional and statutory prison standards, overcrowding
throughout the prison system makes these unenforceable.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. The Paraguayan Constitution does give every citizen the right to petition the
government for any perceived wrong (Article 40).
Prisoner Abuse. All forms of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment are prohibited
by the Constitution. Some prisoners are still subject to being held incommunicado with judicial
approval.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Article 65 of the Paraguayan Constitution requires that prisons be a healthful
environment dedicated to the rehabilitation of prisoners. However, due to the overcrowding
(Paraguayan prisons are at 151% of capacity nationwide), the accompanying health problems
caused by overcrowding and a shortage of medical care, it is believed that this need is not being
met. No definitive study has been accomplished in the last 10 years.
Rehabilitation Programs. Programs throughout the Paraguayan Prison system provide
rehabilitative training. For men and juveniles, it is in skills which allow them to gain employment
83

once their sentence is completed. For women, it is in the domestic sciences. Again, it is the
stated goal that prisons are intended to rehabilitate and reform offenders.
Reentry Programs. Other than training in a marketable skill, there are no re-entry programs
such as half-way houses.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. There are no provisions for suspending the right to vote for any citizen over the age of
18 residing in the national territory (Article 120).
Visitation. Inmates are allowed regular visits from family members, including conjugal visits.

Article 12. Every person has the right to an education, which should be based
on the principles of liberty, morality, and human solidarity.
Likewise, every person has a right to an education that will prepare him to
attain a decent life, to raise his standard of living, and to be a useful member
of society.
The right to an education includes the right to equality of opportunity in
every case, in accordance with natural talents, merit and the desire to utilize
the resources that the state or the community is in a position to provide.
Every person has the right to receive, free, at least a primary education.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

84

_.
..

Peru

~

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

- .-

.

Indigents. According to law, each detained person has the right
to ask to be defended by a lawyer of his choice. If the detained
"'"'
person is illiterate or if he is a minor, a defendant lawyer will be
assigned ex officio. In case the detained does not have the means
to pay for a lawyer, the State will provide one, paid for by the
Ministry of Justice. Generally, inmates complain about their pro
bono lawyer as being uninterested in their case, and unprepared to take up a serious defense.
Juveniles. A person is considered to be liable for a criminal process from the age of eighteen
upwards. There have been laws which lowered criminal responsibility to 16 years in cases of
terrorism or gangs, but these have been derogated, or, de facto, they are not applied anymore.
Normally no juveniles should be in an adult prison. If they are there by error, they have to be
transferred to a juvenile facility. Juvenile facilities are different from the prison system and
depend directly on the Judiciary Power. There was a period when juveniles were kept in a
separate zone of adult prisons, but that is not the case anymore.
Death Penalty. The death penalty has been abolished, with the exception of treason in time
of war. No death sentences or execution have taken place in decades.
Life sentence without any possibility of parole used to exist. Now, the Constitutional Court has
decided that a life-sentence must be “evaluated” after 35 years, which means that at that point,
the life sentence could be revoked.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. Peru has one national prison system, under the control of the National Penitentiary
Institute (Instituto Nacional Penitenciario), which depends on the Ministry of Justice. Prison
management is organized in 8 regions. The Lima region hosts more than half of the prison
population. Some prisons have a special status, as the one that hosts maximum security prisoners
sentenced for terrorism or corruption, as for example the Naval Base of Callao. These facilities
have a special and exclusive treatment status. However, these facilities contain less than 1 % of
the total prison population.
The distribution of pre-trial and sentenced prisoners these last years has usually been according
to a two third / one third basis. Pre-trial and sentenced prisoners usually sleep and live together
in small prisons. In larger prisons, they are kept in separate units during the night, but during
the day they are usually mixed together.
Standards. The Code of Penal procedures indicates in its Preamble Article X that “the
Penitentiary system receives the dispositions, conclusions and recommendations of the United
Nations for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of the Criminal,” but no standards are
published and no Board is charged with following up. The only instance is the Defensoría del
Pueblo, which regularly visits prisons and eventually asks for information from the National
Prison Board (INPE). The International Committee of the Red Cross also visits prisons on a
85

regular basis, but its reports are not public, since they are sent directly to the National Prison
Board (INPE).
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. The law presents certain general rules on prisoner’s rights and duties. Normally
each prisoner should be informed of these rules, but this is not always the case. The Defensoría
del Pueblo has edited a brochure with the main rules, rights and duties, but its distribution has
met with some difficulties. According to law, the prisoner has the right to make complaints to
the prison director, to the Prosecutor, or to the Defensoría del Pueblo. However in practical
terms, this is not so easy as all written documents are controlled as they leave the prison.
Prisoner Abuse. According to law (Constitution and specific laws as Law 26926) torture,
corporal punishment, and other cruel or inhumane treatments are prohibited. However, dark
cells exist in nearly every prison. Sometimes cruel treatment does occur.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. All inmates have the right to have their health protected by the prison system,
but in fact the prison continues to be a very unhealthy place to live. Although, in the last two
years some improvements have been made and some more funds have been available, the
situation still is poor: medical personnel are insufficient, hospitalization is limited, many
contagious illnesses prevail, and food conditions remain poor.
Rehabilitation Programs. In principle, work has to be provided to the inmates. However,
the major part of the ones who work in prison do it based on personal initiative and with their
own resources.
Education is provided in most prisons, at least at primary and technical level. In large prisons,
teachers from the Education Ministry hold classes. In some prisons volunteers also have
education programs, in coordination with the prison authorities. In Lima, some prisoners are
permitted to follow some kind of higher education by correspondence. In those cases, teachers
come to the prison to give the exams. However, this practice is very limited and cannot be
considered as general nor national.
Recreation programs are mostly limited to sport events and occasional contests. The inmates
many times organize their own football contests, as well as literary contests.
Reentry Programs. Specific pre-release or re-entry programs on a nation-wide basis do not
seem to exist. In some prisons, the prison personnel or volunteers take some initiatives regarding
release, but these remain limited. When prisoners are on parole, there are programs to help
them.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. According to the Peruvian Constitution, each national who has not been sentenced,
has the right to vote. This means that only sentenced prisoners cannot vote. This also means
that when a prisoner leaves prison, having done his whole sentence, he is automatically enabled
to take part again in elections. However, in practice, at least these last 20 years, no prisoners at
all have participated in an election process, as neither the National Penitentiary Institute, nor
86

the National Election Board (ONPE) has ever implemented voting facilities in prisons, not
even in prisons where all inmates are in a pre-trial stage. When a prisoner leaves prison, he will
be able to vote again, once he has done all his sentence and once he has gotten hold again of his
personal identity papers.
Visitation. According to law, normally each inmate has the right to communicate and receive
visits. Usually visits are according to sex; that is, one day women may visit inmates, and another
day men may do the same. Normally visits are during week-end. Unless the judge decides
otherwise, there is no restriction on the number of persons or the type of visits an inmate may
receive. Children must always be accompanied by an adult. Special visit arrangements exist
e.g. in cases of intimate visits between spouses, of which at least one is in prison.
No transportation or any other service is provided by the state. When an inmate is transferred
from one prison to another, according to law he/she should have the possibility to inform his/
her family and/or lawyer. In practice this does not occur, which can cause some problems when
people travel to visit a prisoner and find out he is not in that prison anymore.

Article 20. Every person having legal capacity is entitled to participate in
the government of his country, directly or through his representatives, and
to take part in popular elections, which shall be by secret ballot, and shall
be honest, periodic, and free.
American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948.

87

Saint Kitts and N
evis
Nevis
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Free legal assistance was available for indigent defendants in capital cases only.
The law requires that persons detained be charged within 48 hours or be released. If charged, a
detainee must be brought before a court within 72 hours. There is a functioning system of bail.
Juveniles. Juveniles worked in agriculture, domestic service, and illicit activities. Such labor
included family-oriented work where children were made to look after younger siblings or
ailing parents and grandparents at the expense of their schooling.
The law sets the age of consent at 16. Authorities brought charges in 22 cases involving alleged
sexual activity with minors (statutory rape) and 5 cases of incest (which includes sexual activity
with any member of the household) in 2004, the most recent data available.
Death Penalty. Saint Kitts and Nevis does have the death penalty.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. There were 28 prisoners in pretrial detention and 29 awaiting a court hearing at
year’s end. Detainees may be held for a maximum of seven days awaiting a bail hearing. Those
accused of serious offenses are remanded to custody to await trial, while those accused of
minor infractions are released on their own recognizance.
Standards. Prisons were overcrowded, and resources remained limited. The prison on Saint
Kitts had a capacity for 150 prisoners but held 180 prisoners at year’s end, including 5 females;
some prisoners slept on mats on the floor. A low-security prison on Nevis held 29 inmates. The
prison staff periodically received training in human rights.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Prisoner Abuse. Corporal punishment is legal; a court can order that an accused person
receive lashes if found guilty.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS

88

Rehabilitation Programs. Prisoners were required to work if their sentence was more than
30 days and stipulated “hard labor.” They received a small stipend for this work, paid upon
discharge.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Saint Kits and Nevis are not in the Rottinghaus list of countries that permit its prisoners
to vote.1
Visitation. Family members, attorneys, and clergy were permitted to visit detainees regularly.
SOURCES:

1

<www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf>

Article 13.1 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and expression.
This right includes freedom to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print,
in the form of art, or through any other medium of one’s choice.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

89

Saint Lucia
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. There is no public defender system currently in
place. The prisoners are only given time and adequate access to
the law to prepare for their case, but they must be able to pay for
legal representation.
Juveniles. Their citizens become adults at age 18 and they do have separate facilities for
juveniles and adults.
Death Penalty. There is a death penalty although there have been no executions since the
Grenadine war.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. St. Lucia’s prison system is similar to the British prison system since Great Britain
controlled the island until it became independent in 1979. The country does not house prisoners
in different places because of their offenses. Once a person is duly convicted, they are subjected
to imprisonment.
Standards. Prison system conditions generally meet minimum international standards at the
2-year-old Bordelais Correctional Facility, which has a capacity of 500 prisoners and holds
approximately that number of prisoners.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. The prisons have written rules and regulations which govern them and which
establish the rules for the orderly running of the prison. There is a grievance procedure for
prisoners who wish to make complaints for deprivation of their human rights.
Prisoner Abuse. Pursuant to their constitution, torture, corporal or other degrading punishment
is prohibited. The press reported that an attorney complained to the judge during a sentencing
proceeding that guards had beaten clients of his who were prisoners at Bordelais prison. Also
the press reported allegations that guards severely beat a prisoner who was left in his cell
unconscious and denied medical treatment for several days. The attorney who heads the National
Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights charged that 10 prison guards had beaten the prisoner,
and called for the government to investigate a “culture of torture and inhumane treatment of
inmates.” The government denied that such a situation existed.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. While prisoners remain in prison, they are allowed to vote if they retained registration
prior to their incarceration.1
Visitation. Prisoners are allowed visits with family members, but no special visits are arranged.
SOURCES:
1
<www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf>

90

Article 5.2 No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or
degrading punishment or treatment. All persons deprived of their liberty
shall be treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

These two men have been exonerated.

Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing
by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights
and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11: Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be
presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at
which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.
United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

91

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. The country does have a public defender system to
represent people who are poor. Based on the person’s ability to
pay for representation, they will either be represented by some well
known lawyer on the island or they are given an opportunity to be
represented by a lawyer appointed by the government.
Juveniles. A person is considered an adult when he/she reaches
18 years of age. Juveniles are kept separately from adults. However,
a family court handles criminal cases for minors up to age 16. Children may be charged and
convicted as criminals from the age of 16. In such cases, children then may be jailed with older
criminals. Conditions are inadequate for juvenile offenders.
Death Penalty. St. Vincent does have a death penalty. Within the last three years, there hasn’t
been any death sentence carried out. There are people in the Grenadines serving natural life
sentences in prison.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. St. Vincent and the Grenadines do have separate prison systems for prisoners who
commit crimes against the government. The prisoners are kept in the same facilities, but different
parts, although the facilities are run the same. There were 13 female inmates held in a separate
section in the Fort Charlotte prison.
Standards. Most of the prison standards are adopted from England. The prison then sets
policies on how the prison should be governed. Prison conditions are poor. Prison buildings
are antiquated and overcrowded, with Her Majesty’s Prison in Kingstown holding more than
351 inmates in a building designed for 75. These conditions have resulted in serious health and
safety problems. Pre-trial detainees and young offenders (16 to 21 years of age) were held with
convicted prisoners, although the government was building a new facility for them and hiring
new prison officers at year’s end.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Each prison does have a policy governing the behavior of the prisoners. The
officers are responsible for enforcing the rules in the prison. Prisoners are able to make
complaints within and outside the prison administration. The government established an
Oversight Committee to monitor police activity and hear public complaints about police
misconduct. The committee reported to the Minister of National Security and to the Minister of
Legal Affairs and actively participated in investigations during the year. In September, the
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights Association (SVGHRA) conducted a seminar
on human rights for police cadets.
Prisoner Abuse. Any form of brutality is unacceptable in the prison.

92

SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Each prison provides medical and health care for the prisoners.
Rehab Programs. Each prison has work and educational programs for prisoners. Also,
recreation is provided for prisoners, such as music, singing, and so forth. A rehabilitation program
allowed inmates to receive contracts and jobs with local entrepreneurs. A school program offered
courses in carpentry, tailoring, baking, and mechanical engineering.
Reentry Programs. The government does have programs to assist people once they are
released from prison. There are shelters where people can go to get assistance to help them get
back on their feet.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Generally, prisoners cannot vote while incarcerated. Once a person in the Grenadines
completes his sentence, his citizenship is fully restored, and he regains his right to vote.
Visitation. Visits are a little different in the Grenadines. Families are allowed to bring food
and eat with their imprisoned family member. Family members can also bring certain permissible
items. In certain circumstances, private visiting arrangements are permitted.

Article 5.5 Minors while subject to criminal proceedings shall be
separated from adults and brought before specialized tribunals, as
speedily as possible, so that they may be treated in accordance with
their status as minors.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

93

~_+P-",a~ramaribo

•

Suriname
CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Indigents. Detainees are allowed prompt access to counsel of their choosing, but the prosecutor
may prohibit access if he thinks that this could harm the investigation. Courts assign private
sector lawyers to defend indigent prisoners, paying the costs from public funds. There are,
however, just 14 court-assigned lawyers who generally appeared at trial without prior consultation
with defendants. According to the watchdog group Moiwana ’68, these lawyers often do not
appear at all. Detainees do have the right to a prompt judicial determination of the legality of
their detention, and this is respected in practice.
Juveniles. Young people are considered adults at age 18. In its concluding observations, the
UN Human Rights Committee commented, “The Committee is concerned about the compatibility
with the Covenant of the low age of criminal responsibility in Suriname (10 years), having
regard in particular to reliable information about the ill-treatment of children in detention and
the long delays in pending trials.”
One source indicates that there are 5 institutions – 3 for adults and 2 for juveniles. Another
source indicates there are juvenile facilities for both boys and girls between the ages of 10 and
18 within the adult prison with educational and recreational facilities. It also notes that there is
no separate facility for girls under the age of 18; girls are held in the women’s detention center
and in the women’s section of one of the prison complexes.
A separate wing of an adult prison held boys under age 18 who committed serious crimes.
Conditions in the separate youth detention center remained inadequate, and prisoners and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) complained about overcrowding and poor ventilation,
physical and verbal abuse by the guards, and unchecked violence among detainees.
Death Penalty. Suriname has de facto abolition of the death penalty; they have not carried
out an execution since 1982.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. There are local detention facilities as well as three prisons. In 1999, there were
reportedly 1933 prisoners of which 41.4% (800) were pre-trial detainees or remand prisoners.
Human rights monitors expressed concern about conditions in pre-trial detention facilities,
which remained overcrowded. A steadily growing number of people who had been convicted,
but not yet placed in prisons due to a lack of space in prison facilities, continued to be held in
these detention cells. Because of staff shortages, police officers rarely permitted detainees to
leave their cells. Detainees and human rights groups also complained about inadequate meals.
Standards. Responders found no report describing written policies and/or standards. Prison
conditions were poor. Most facilities, particularly older jails, remained unsanitary and seriously
overcrowded, with as many as four times the number of detainees for which they were designed.
94

Conditions in women’s jail and prison facilities were generally better than those in the men’s
facilities.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Detainees are allowed to file complaints. In 2004, there were 166 complaints
filed with the Police Personnel Investigation Department (OPZ), mostly for physical
mistreatment. Authorities arrested 18 officers and disciplined 105 for various offenses, including
brutality; 19 officers were incarcerated, 32 were suspended, and 5 were fired.
Prisoner Abuse. There are reported cases of police mistreatment of detainees (particularly
during arrest) and abuse of prisoners by prison officials. Human rights groups contend that
inadequate training of police officers serving as jailers at local detention facilities contribute to
the abuses.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Health care is poor. Local detention facilities are the worst. Detainees are allowed
no exercise and rarely permitted to leave their cells. Meals are inadequate, and due to security
concerns, families are no longer allowed to bring food. There is no consideration given for
special diets required for religious reasons. Facilities are overcrowded and violence among
prisoners is common.
Rehabilitation Programs. There is educational programming for juveniles. We found no
reports of programming for adult prisoners. Responder saw no mention of out-of-cell activities
or education for prisoners, other than juveniles.
Reentry Programs. There is no bail system. A commission in 2003 recommended renovating
all prison facilities and adjusting policies so that those charged with lesser crimes would be
released after giving a statement. It does not appear that those changes have been implemented.
Responder found no evidence of assistance for those leaving the prison system.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Suriname is not in the Rottinghaus list of countries that permit its prisoners to vote.1
Article 58 of the Suriname Constitution reads: “Those persons shall be debarred from exercising
the right to vote:
a. To whom the right to vote has been denied by an irrevocable judicial decision;
b. Who are lawfully deprived of their liberty;
c. Who, by virtue of an irrevocable judicial decision, have lost the right to dispose of
or administer their property on account of insanity or imbecility.”
Visitation. There is some visiting allowed. There was mention of changes to prohibit visitors
from bringing in food (for security reasons). The government permitted visits by independent
human rights observers. Representatives of the NGO Moiwana ’86 group reported that, in
general they had access to prisoners and received cooperation from prison officials on routine
matters.
SOURCES:
1
<www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf>

95

Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

96

Trinidad and Tobago

Tobllgo t?

Port.Of.S~Trlnldld

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Indigents. Inadequate legal aid is provided to prisoners.
Criminal defendants in Trinidad and Tobago have a right to
counsel, have a right to be present at trial, are presumed innocent
until proven guilty and have the right to an appeal of their conviction and sentence. Although
all defendants have a right to speak with an attorney in a timely manner, only defendants facing
serious criminal charges are provided with an attorney at public expense if they can not afford
one. The law requires that people accused of murder be provided with a court-appointed attorney.
An indigent defendant who has been appointed an attorney may refuse to accept the assigned
attorney and request that another attorney be appointed to represent him/her.
Juveniles. At age 18, young people are considered adults for the purposes of the criminal
justice system. There are separate prisons for juveniles.
Death Penalty. They do have a death penalty. The last executions, 10, were in 1999. There
are now around 5 on death row. Trinidad and Tobago do not have sentences of life without
possibility of parole.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. Trinidad and Tobago only have national prisons. All following figures are from
April 2004. Remand and convicted are held separately. Port of Spain (remand and convicted):
900 inmates; Golden Grove Women’s Prison (remand and convicted): 111; Golden Grove
Remand: 800+ ; Golden Grove Convicted: 500 + ; Carrera (Island) Prison (convicted): 480+ ;
Youth Training Centre (remand and convicted): 214; Maximum Security Prison (convicted):
800+. Note: there were plans to move more prisoners to this prison to relieve overcrowding.
Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have noted that Trinidad and Tobago
face a very serious problem with lengthy pretrial detention. In 2005, HRW reported that “heavy
court backlogs and an inefficient judicial system continued to be a problem.” Of the 3730
prisoners confined in prisons, 1573 were pretrial detainees awaiting trial. Although by law
detainees had the right to a hearing before a magistrate’s court within 10 days, pretrial detainees
often waited months, if not years, for their trial dates in the high court. In 2004, HRW reported
that, on average, pretrial detainees waited 19 months before going to trial, and some prisoners
had not seen an attorney for 3 years or more. As of July 2004 HRW investigators found that
more than 17,000 matters remained outstanding before the courts, dating from 1998. Courts
handled an average of 35 to 60 matters per day and 11,434 cases per year.
Standards. There are written prison rules, but they date from over 100 years ago. Amnesty
International (AI) has investigated conditions in prisons in Trinidad and Tobago over the past
few years, and has reported that prisoners have been subjected to substandard medical and
sanitary conditions. In a 2004 investigation, AI reported that prison conditions were harsh.
“Overcrowding was severe, particularly at the Port of Spain Prison, which held approximately
900 prisoners, although designed to hold only 250 inmates when it was built in 1812.” One
cellblock observed by AI investigators held 114 prisoners in 10 feet by 10 feet cells, with
upwards of 14 prisoners per cell.
97

The maximum security prison had an intended capacity of 2400 persons but, due to a faulty
sewage system and inadequate electronic security, held only 800 prisoners and did little to
relieve the overcrowding in the detention system.
However, the government initially focused on reducing overcrowding and improving unsanitary
conditions at the Port of Spain prison. According to the newly appointed prison service
commissioner, the number of prisoners at this facility was reduced from 900 in 2004 to 650 in
2005. The number of prisoners in each 10- by 10-foot cell also was reduced from a maximum
of 14 or more to a maximum of 5. The government also put resources into repainting, better
lighting, improved toilet facilities, and more hygienic food service arrangements.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Prisons do not have written rules and regulations governing prisoner behavior.
Prisoners are not able to make complaints to the central prison authority. There is an Ombudsman
who will take prisoners complaints, but his powers are very limited.
Prisoner Abuse. Corporal punishment, torture, dark cells, or any other cruel, unusual or
degrading treatment are not expressly prohibited and are present. Amnesty International found
credible evidence that some prisoners and detainees were mistreated by police officers and
prison guards. The prison administration itself reported that 36 guards out of a total guard
force of 2050 were under suspension and investigation for behavior incompatible with service
as a law enforcement officer.
In a 2004 Report on crime and prisons in Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. State Department
echoed conclusions drawn by Amnesty International, indicating that, although the country’s
existing government “generally respected the human rights of its citizens, …there were problems
in some areas. There were police killings during apprehension and deaths of persons while in
custody, poor prison conditions, and reports of police and guard abuse of prisoners. Violence
against women remained a problem.” The U.S. State department reported that 21 people died
during 2004 while in police custody or at the hands of police, and indicated that excessive use
of force continued to be a concern.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. The prison does not provide adequate health care for prisoners. Amnesty
International reported that conditions at the prison were extremely dirty and unsanitary. “Illnesses
such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, conjunctivitis, and scabies spread easily. Waste for one
cellblock was disposed of within 5 feet of the meal preparation area, and there were reports of
insects infesting the entire facility.” AI concluded that conditions amounted to “cruel, inhuman,
and degrading treatment.”
In addition, conditions at the maximum-security prison in Arouca and the Golden Grove Remand
Center also were poor. On two separate occasions, judges declined to sentence elderly convicts
to prison terms, citing the risk of death due to unsanitary conditions and inadequate medical
facilities.
Rehabilitation Programs. The prisons have some limited work, education and recreation
programs. In spite of this, a 2002 government report on the prison service and the broader
criminal justice system recommended transforming the system to focus on rehabilitation.
98

Progress toward providing adequate employment and work opportunities for prisoners and
people reentering the community in Trinidad and Tobago is limited.
Re-entry Programs. There are no known programs for pre-release or re-entry assistance for
prisoners.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. In Trinidad and Tobago, pre-trial detainees and prisoners serving less that one year are
allowed to vote, and people regain their right to vote once released from prison. In his
comprehensive article on “Incarceration and Enfranchisement,” Brandon Rottinghaus classifies
Trinidad and Tobago as a country that only restricts prisoners from voting under “special
circumstances,” and describes countries in this category as taking a “middle ground approach”
to enfranchisement of people with criminal convictions.1 Of course, as sentencing in Trinidad
and Tobago becomes more lengthy in response to punitive sentencing patterns in the United
States, the period of effective disenfranchisement for prisoners serving more than one year in
prison will increase as well.
Visitation. The prison visiting system is awful. The conditions for visits and the time and
frequency permitted for them to take place, are exceptionally poor. In the majority of the prison
system, visits are initially limited to 15 minutes, regardless of how far the relative may have
travelled. The frequency of visits depends on how long the prisoner has served. A remand
prisoner is allowed one visit of 15 minutes every second week. For the first six months of his
sentence, a convicted prisoner is allowed one 15 minute visit every 2 months; this is increased
to one every six weeks for 30 minutes after six months and one per month for 45 minutes after
2 years.
In Port of Spain Prison and Maximum Security Prison, prisoners were divided from their visitors
by glass and internal phones were used to communicate, thereby allowing a degree of privacy.
At Golden Grove complex, the visitors’ room, which was used by all three institutions, facilities
consisted of two walls, approximately 1 metre apart, behind which the prisoner and visitor
would stand, facing each other. They would then converse with each other by speaking through
the wire across the divide. There were 12 spaces for visits, with visits occurring simultaneously,
thereby necessitating everyone to shout to be heard. This process lacked any privacy and was
degrading for all involved.
No prisoners – apart from imprisoned foreigners calling their home country – are allowed to
use telephones, thereby further restricting their access to their family. The advantages of having
humane visiting facilities have been widely recognised. For example, Martin Narey, Director
General of the Prison Service of England and Wales, observed, “A stable, supportive family
throughout the sentence is often a key factor in preventing re-offending…I firmly believe that
we should do as much as practically possible to sustain family relationships.”2 The World Health
Organization has pointed out that, “Family and friendship ties are important sources of support
and should be prompted. Although imprisonment requires the imposition of some constraints on
visits, letters and telephone calls, the conditions surrounding these means of maintaining contact
should be kept as normal as possible.”
SOURCES:
1
<www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf>
2
“Family Matters”, Prison Report Issue 55, Summer 2001, Prison Reform Trust.

99

Article 1. The states party to this protocol shall not apply the death
penalty in their territory to any person subject to their jurisdiction.
Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty, 1990.
SIGNATORY COUNTRIES:
Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Article 4.2 In countries that have not abolished the death penalty, it may be
imposed only for the most serious crimes and pursuant to a final judgment
rendered by a competent court and in accordance with the law establishing
such punishment, enacted prior to the commission of the crime.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

100

.-

United States

\... .... ""

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. In 1963, the Supreme Court of the United States held that every person facing a
significant criminal prosecution was entitled to a lawyer, and if they could not afford one, the
government had to provide one without cost. The federal system has a fairly complete and
decent system of federal public defenders who are appointed for those unable to afford a lawyer
and who are facing prosecution for federal crimes. The situation in the states is very uneven.
Some large cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Washington have excellent public defender
programs while in some states like Texas and others there are very inadequate public defender
systems. Judges will often appoint elderly, retired and less than competent lawyers for poor
defendants. The situation is slowly improving with states like Montana just now beginning a
public defender system. In some areas, the public defender system is underfunded and
overwhelmed with high case loads.
Juveniles. As of the end of the 2004 legislative sessions, 23 states had no minimum age for
the purpose of the criminal justice system, and young children could be treated as adults in
those states. 2 states have a minimum age of 10, 3 states have a minimum age of 12, 6 states
have a minimum age of 13, 16 states have a minimum age of 14 and 1 state has a minimum age
of 15.
There are separate prisons for juveniles, although in some, states, juveniles are kept in the
same facilities as adult prisoners, especially if they are awaiting trial. In a 2004 report of the
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, they report that 2477 inmates under age 18 were held in state
adult prisons. There were certainly more than that number in adult jails.
Death Penalty. In the United States, there is a federal death penalty for a variety of federal
crimes and 38 of the 50 states have the death penalty although a few states with the penalty no
longer use it. The most recent available data indicates that as of October 2005, there were 3385
men and women under a death sentence. The number of persons executed during the past three
years were: 2003–65; 2004–59; 2005–60.
48 of the 50 states and the federal system have sentences of life without possibility of parole.
The other two states are New Mexico, which has the death penalty but not life without parole,
and Alaska, which has no death penalty and no sentences of life without parole.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. The U.S. does have separate federal and state prison systems. The total jail and
prison population at the end of 2004 was approximately 2,300,000 men, women and children
in secure facilities. There were approximately 183,000 national (federal) prisoners, and the
101

balance were in state and local facilities. Some large local jurisdictions have more prisoners
than many small countries. Los Angeles has 21,000; New York City, 19,000; and Chicago, over
10,000. Approximately 75% of all prisoners are sentenced, and 25% are awaiting trial. Awaiting
trial prisoners and sentenced prisoners with short terms, or waiting for transfer to state facilities,
are often in the same facility.
It should be mentioned that the number of prisoners in the U.S. is unique in the world. There
are just over 9,000,000 prisoners in the entire world and more than 25% of them are in the
U.S.. The U.S. rate of incarceration is the highest in the world.
Standards. There are no federal prison standards other than the vague and general language
of the U.S. Constitution, which says in Article VIII, “—nor cruel and unusual punishments
inflicted.” It is then left to the courts to decide what that means. A few states have statutory
provisions for the treatment of prisoners, but they are rarely observed and more rarely enforced.
Between 1970 and 1996, the federal courts served as the watchdog of the U.S. jails and prisons,
and through the vehicle of prisoners’ rights litigation, the courts often served as the independent,
outside inspector. That changed very significantly in 1996, when the very conservative Congress
enacted the Prisoners Litigation Reform Act, which greatly reduced the authority of federal
courts to look at and correct constitutional and human rights violations in the jails and prisons
of America.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Almost every prison and jail in America has a written rule book which lists all
regulations and procedures for behavior in the facility. Enforcement of these rules varies within
different institutions. Some prisons and jails follow the rule books carefully and some are used
arbitrarily. The rules and regulations are enforced by the prison staff although most facilities
allow prisoners to file grievances against staff or the prison administration for alleged violations
of the rules or their legal rights. However, these grievances are heard by other prison staff and
are not often decided in the prisoner’s favor. Usually, prisoners are allowed to appeal a grievance
decision to the central authority, but again it is kept within the prison system. Prisoners can
appeal to the courts, but it is usually difficult to obtain counsel and they face the problems
mentioned in Standards above.
Prisoner Abuse. Generally speaking, the laws and court decisions prohibit cruel and unusual
punishment treatment but degrading treatment is usually difficult for courts to decide on. The
term is not often found in U.S. law or decisions. The use of dark cells are sometimes allowed,
depending on special circumstances.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. The Supreme Court has ruled that “deliberate indifference to serious medical
needs” is a violation of the U.S. Constitution. However actual medical care varies greatly from
state to state and in the federal system. In recent years, many states have contracted their prison
health care to private, profit making, companies and the record here has been very bad. These
companies often neglect or refuse medical care because of the cost. It is therefore difficult to
generalize as some states and local jurisdictions have very sub-standard medical care for prisoners
and some have fairly decent care.
Rehabilitation Programs. Prisons have fewer work, education and recreation programs
today than they had twenty years ago. That is due to the enormous growth in the prison system,
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the budget problems created by this growth, and the general feeling in the U.S. society that
prisons are for punishment and not rehabilitation. Thus today, most jails and prisons are huge
warehouses of idleness with a few prisoners engaged in some activity.
Re-entry Programs. A movement to assist prisoners on release and reentry to society is very
recent. It began a few years ago when policy makers and advocates realized that 650,000 men
and women were coming out of prison every year and instead of reentry assistance, they were
faced with all kinds of barriers. They were unable to obtain certain kinds of licenses, necessary
for employment, unable to obtain low cost federal housing if they had a history of drug use and
faced a whole range of other impediments, including the loss of voting rights as ex-offenders
in many states. Re-entry programs are now being developed slowly.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. All states allow pre-trial detainees to vote, but in practice there is varying degrees of
assistance and compliance. Only two states, Maine and Vermont permit sentenced prisoners to
vote and they do provide absentee ballots and some assistance. Thus 48 states do not allow
sentenced prisoners to vote. 38 states restore the right to vote upon completion of a prison
sentence. 12 states do not allow prisoners to vote after they serve their sentence, but some of
them restore voting rights after a certain waiting period of some years. Some of these 12 states
do not take away voting rights for first-time minor offenses.
Visitation. All prisons and jails have some arrangements for visiting. However in some facilities,
the visiting is not private and does not allow for any physical contact between the prisoner and
the visitor. In these facilities, the prisoner and the visitor are separated by a window or a metal
screen. There are almost never any facilities for private visits for family members. Visiting is
also complicated by distance. Some prisoners may be in facilities thousands of miles away
from their families. Prisoners may be transferred to other states for a variety of reasons, and the
advent of private prisons, far from the prisoners home, sometimes makes family visits impossible.
For example, the state of Hawaii, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, currently has
nearly half of its 3600 prisoners in private prisons in the states of Mississippi, Oklahoma,
Arizona and Kentucky. Those prisoners almost never receive a visit from their family. A few
states do make arrangements for family travel to the prisons, but it is rare.
Another mode of visitation is by telephone. Telephone visits are non-existent in some states,
and exorbitantly priced in others. Modern communication systems could enhance family relations
and provide educational opportunities.

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Article 2. For the purposes of this convention, torture shall be understood to be any act intentionally performed whereby physical or mental
pain or suffering is inflicted on a person for purposes of criminal investigation, as a means of intimidation, as personal punishment, as a
preventive measure, as a penalty, or for any other purpose. Torture shall
also be understood to be the use of methods upon a person intended to
obliterate the personality of the victim or to diminish his physical or
mental capacities, even if they do not cause physical pain or mental
anguish.
Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, 1985.
SIGNATORY COUNTRIES: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.

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Uruguay
.Mo evldeo
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Police may hold a detainee for 24 hours before presenting the case to a judge, at
which time the detainee has the right to counsel. Confessions obtained by the police before a
detainee appears before a judge and attorney (without the police present) are not valid. If the
detainee cannot afford a lawyer, the courts appoint a public defender.
Judges rarely granted bail for persons accused of crimes that carry at least two years in prison.
Between 60 and 65 percent of all persons incarcerated were awaiting a final decision in their
case. The length of time an accused spends in jail pending trial varied and contributed to
tension in the prisons.
Juveniles. Juveniles are minors until age 18. Most juvenile offenders are placed in halfway
houses which provide educational, vocational, and other opportunities. They are permitted to
enter and leave such facilities without restriction. Juveniles who committed serious crimes
were incarcerated in juvenile detention centers, which resemble traditional jails and have cells.
Conditions in some of these facilities are as bad as the adult versions, with some youths permitted
to leave their cells only one hour per day.
Death Penalty. Section II, Article 26 of the Constitution of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
(1966) states in part: “The death penalty shall not be applied to anyone.” (Amnesty International).
There is no sanction of life without parole. During the period of military rule, many persons,
including children, disappeared. A “disappearance” constitutes a continuous or permanent
offense as long as the fate or whereabouts of the victim has not been determined. In 1995,
Uruguay ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons.
Amnesty International states, “It is important that the Uruguayan society is allowed access to
the whole truth of what happened during the years of the military rule and that the victims and
their relatives have the right to justice and appropriate redress.”
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. There is one federal prison administration – La dirección nacional de cárceles,
penitenciarias y centros. It is a division of the Ministry of the Interior, which also administers
the National Police.
In 2003 the prison population total was 7100, confined in 24 establishments. Official capacity
of the prison system was 3386. 72.5% of the prisoners were pre-trial detainees, and 6% were
women. The women are held in separate facilities except for the Artigas prison where women
are held in a separate facility within the prison. In general, conditions for the female prisoners
are better than for the men due to the small population and the availability of training and
education opportunities.
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Pre-trial detainees were not held separately from convicted prisoners. The law provides the
accused with the right to a prompt judicial determination of the legality of detention, which is
not always respected, and requires that the detaining authority explain the legal grounds for the
detention. A judge must investigate any detainee claim of mistreatment.
Standards. The Penal Code provides statutory prison standards. According to the U.S.
Embassy, “The judicial and parliamentary branches of government are responsible for
investigating specific allegations of abuse.”
Conditions in prisons were poor and deteriorated during the year, as aging facilities were not
adequately maintained. Overcrowding continued due to budget problems and strong minimum
sentencing guidelines. Through an early release program enacted in October, the prison
population decreased slightly during the year to approximately 6500 prisoners in facilities
designed to hold 2940. The overcrowding caused sanitation, social, and health problems in the
major facilities. The Libertad prison, badly damaged in a riot in 2002, held hundreds of prisoners,
despite its official status as a condemned building. In August when a violent storm destroyed
part of the roof at the prison, officials could not provide adequate alternative shelter. The
government continued to hold some prisoners in modified shipping containers; the cells lacked
running water and posed sanitation problems.
In addition to overcrowding, the penal system suffered from understaffing and corruption.
Authorities did not always separate prisoners according to the severity of their crimes.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Grievances. Written rules governing prisoner behavior would be included in the Penal Code
and enforced by the local prison officers, and backed by the National Police and ultimately by
the judicial and parliamentary branches of government. Human rights groups have reported
that police sometimes mistreat prisoners, who rarely file complaints. When complaints are
filed, they are investigated by the government. (U.S. Embassy report).
Prisoner Abuse. The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment
or punishment. However, there have been numerous reports of abuse of prisoners. There were
no new developments in the investigation into a claim that a guard at the Libertad prison
tortured two prisoners in 2004.
The U.S. Embassy reported the following: “Human rights groups and an organization of the
families of prisoners alleged that prisoners were routinely beaten during processing and during
searches; and that food, bedding, and clothing were of poor quality and insufficient quantity.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. Poor health care is inevitable in the overcrowded prisons. The U.S. Embassy
reported that access to medical care was poor. A prison director stated that prisoners received a
little more than half of the recommended daily food allowance, and prisoners’ families had to
provide additional food.
Rehabilitation Programs. The government shows increasing interest in providing
rehabilitation programs in the prisons. The National Youth Institute (INAME) and the Pedagogic
Center are examples of this new outlook.
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Reentry Programs. In addition to increased government realization of the importance of
pre-release programs, there are various non-government programs taking effect. One very fine
example is the work of Virginia Varela Dubra, elected to the Ashoka Fellowship in 2003. Her
inspirational story and work are described online at www.ashoka.org/fellows/. In summary,
“Her work starts in the prison, where she provides counseling, private tutoring . . . and off-site
vocational training … she makes sure that young inmates have a place to go and an opportunity
to forge a new life after their release. Having proven the effectiveness of her approach in
Montevideo’s largest juvenile detention center, Virginia is increasing her organization to include
eight additional prisons in Uruguay, with plans to use her existing network to spread elements
of her work throughout Latin America.”
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Felons in prison or released are not allowed to vote. For Tables listing countries where
prisoners are or are not allowed to vote, see online, “Incarceration and Enfranchisement:
International Practices, Impact and Recommendations for Reform” by Brandon Rottinghaus,
Dept. of Political Science, Northwestern University. In his introduction he tells the story of Joe
Loya who, like three million other felons, found out that in spite of having served his time with
rehab and parole training, still could not vote. “I came out of prison wanting to think and act
100 percent different than when I went in. I supposed that the opposite of the virulently antisocial criminal is an optimistic civic-minded citizen.” What a disillusion “to be excluded from
the civil process.”
Visitation. Prison policies include visitation, but sources did not give details, except to say
that there were problems. “Narcotics and weapons were smuggled into several facilities, allegedly
with official collusion. Prison officials complicated family visitation, in which family members
provide food to supplement a prisoner’s diet, and subjected family members to invasive searches,
sometimes under unhygienic conditions. The government permitted general prison visits by
independent human rights observers as well as inmate visitation and visits from foreign
diplomats.

Article 8.2 Every person accused of a criminal offense has the right to be
presumed innocent so long as his guilt has not been proven according to
the law. During the proceedings, every person is entitled, with full equality,
to the following minimum guarantees:
(b) prior notification in detail to the accused of the charges against him;
(e) the inalienable right to be assisted by counsel provided by the state,
paid or not as the domestic law provides, if the accused does not defend
himself personally or engage his own counsel within the time period established by law;
(f) the right of the defense to examine witnesses present in the court and to
obtain the appearance, as witnesses, of experts or other persons who may
throw light on the facts.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969.

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Jail-house Lawyer, David Ruiz

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Venezuela
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Indigents. Available reports make no mention of
Venezuela having a state-funded public defender system.
A judge may appoint an attorney for an indigent prisoner
if he is willing to serve pro-bono.
Juveniles. Young people are treated as adults at age 18. Arrested youths are processed by a
separate department of juvenile detention. However, in its urgent recommendations for prison
reform, Human Rights Watch includes the transfer of all minor prisoners at La Planta Prison in
Caracas to safe juvenile centers.
Security forces and law enforcement authorities often imprisoned minors together with adults,
even though separate facilities existed for juveniles. Because reform institutions were filled to
capacity, hundreds of children accused of infractions were confined in juvenile detention centers
where they were crowded into small, filthy cells, fed only once a day, and forced to sleep on
bare concrete floors. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners.
Death Penalty. Venezuela has no death penalty. However, the stark reality is that hundreds
of prisoners die or are wounded every year. In 2005 there were 408 recorded deaths of prisoners
and 726 seriously wounded. It should be noted that many of the prison casualties are caused by
prisoners themselves. This epidemic of violence is facilitated by the prevalence of weapons
among prisoners—knives, machetes, pistols and even grenades. Often the violence is related
to gangs which control the arms traffic, as well as the drug and money traffic.
Reports do not indicate that Venezuela has a sentence of LWOP (Life Without Parole). Many
prisoners, though, no doubt feel totally forgotten and forsaken.
PRISON SYSTEMS
Structure. The 28 Venezuelan prisons are under the direction of the Department (Ministry)
of Justice. In January of 2006, 17,150 Venezuelans were in prison. 42% were sentenced; 52%
were indicted, but not tried and sentenced. Five percent were women. The convicted and the
untried stay together in the same crowded prisons. There is one prison for women only. Some
prisons have annexes for female prisoners. Venezuelan law permits women prisoners to keep
their children with them until age three. Prison conditions vary from fair to deplorable. (Detailed
descriptions of prison conditions are given in reports from Human Rights Watch.).
OVP reported that as of September, 9,653 persons (51 percent of prisoners) were in pretrial
detention. Trials were delayed due to many factors, including the limited power of judges to
compel authorities to transport prisoners to court.
Two-thirds of Venezuelan prisoners have not been sentenced, and technically should not be
locked up. The majority of those arrested are kept locked up rather than getting out on bail, or
getting probation. The legal process is inefficient and legal recourse for the masses is scarce.
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Standards. There are many prison policies, but enforcement is a super problem. Prisons are
severely overcrowded, understaffed, and plagued by weapons, drugs and gangs. In general, the
prisoners are in control, with the powerful and most wealthy getting the best rooms, food, and
any other available amenities. In the case of a riot, the National Guard intervenes.
Prison conditions were harsh due to scarce resources, poorly trained and corrupt prison staff,
and violence by guards and inmates. The prison monitoring NGO Venezuelan Prison Observatory
(OVP) estimated that existing prisons could hold approximately 60 percent of the estimated 19
thousand prisoners. Severe overcrowding in some prisons and food and water shortages remained
problems.
Inmates often had to pay guards and other inmates to obtain necessities such as space in a cell,
a bed, and food. Most prisoners obtained food from their families, by paying prison guards, or
in barter with other prisoners. Many inmates also profited from exploiting and abusing others,
particularly since convicted murderers and rapists often were held with pretrial detainees or
first-time petty offenders. Trafficking in arms and drugs fueled gang-related violence and
extortion. Prison officials often illegally demanded payment from prisoners for transportation
to judicial proceedings.
BEHAVIOR AND PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Prisoner Abuse. Rules prohibiting abusive treatment must be on file . . . somewhere. Before
such rules can make prison life safe and humane, the prevailing system must be renovated.
Needed reform will require funding, training more officers (guards), and replacing public and
political apathy with genuine concern for all citizens, including those of the barrios marginales
(the marginalized or destitute).
Violence between prison gangs, including shootouts and riots, was common. From January
through September, OVP recorded 304 deaths and 517 injuries in the prisons. Most inmate
deaths resulted from prisoner-on-prisoner violence, riots, fires, and from generally unsanitary
and unsafe conditions. Prisoners also died as a consequence of poor diet and inadequate medical
care.
SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS
Health Care. In most prisons, there is no health care for prisoners. Visiting relatives may
provide minor medical aid. Those prisoners with money may buy some kinds of medicine.
Rehabilitation Programs. One of Venezuela’s major prison problems is idleness. A few
prisons have limited opportunities for training, work, and recreation. For far too many, whose
violation has been minor and non-violent, prisoners are doomed to an incarceration where no
one cares, where creative rehabilitation is stifled, and where a reasonable, earned release to
live freely is nowhere in sight.
RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
Voting. Venezuela is not in the Rottinghaus list of countries that permit its prisoners (estimated
at 15,107 in 2003) to vote. (www.sentencingproject.org/pdfs/rottinghaus.pdf)
Visitation. Prisoners may have contact visits twice a week, one of which may be a conjugal
visit. Visitors must provide their own transportation, which is always a real problem for poor
families.
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Article 5.1 Every person has the right to have his physical, mental, and
moral integrity respected.
American Convention on Human Rights, 1969

Article 7: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal
protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration
and against any incitement to such discrimination.
United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

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