Attorney Condemns Inhumane Detention Conditions
Audrey Matura Shepherd
Pending the passage of amendments in the House, the Firearms Act continues to create controversy among attorneys and those they represent who have fall afoul of the very wide shadow cast by that law. Tonight’s story was created as a consequence of that law, but goes much deeper than that to highlight the deplorable, inhumane conditions of the aptly named piss-house. It also points to a serious problem with the policy and guidelines of the Police Department. Indira Skeet and her two sons were arrested on Friday after a gun was found in the yard of their home. They were all locked down, but the mother ended up in the hospital after she caught an infection.
Audrey Matura-Shepherd, Attorney for Skeet
“I had to be called out to police station on Friday evening, there were three people charged almost immediately with gun charges and ammunition charges and it’s a really interesting story because GSU went to their home, searched the home and found nothing. And while they are searching the home there are other GSU officers in the yard, and after searching for like three hours they said lets go in the yard and when they reached in the yard by where the fence is broken on top of the little dog house they found a gun and of course the mother and two sons were taken in and these are working Belizeans. The minor in the home were not taken in. But what is sad about it, the gun law that they are trying to amend or changes, even if amended it will not address that situation. Now here is this woman who has never been a fouled with the law and her son has no record and they had to spend the entire weekend in lock up and even that they were arraigned this morning and they have to now spend at least two weeks until bail can be granted because the amendment says that you have to wait until ten notice days to the D.P.P. So if they really want to change the gun law they really need to reconsider the time period, it is really unfair, you are still innocent until proven guilty. The other issue is really devastating to me as a women and now I realize what other women go through when they are locked up there. My client, she is on her monthly from Friday she is held there and she is denied the right to bathe every day. They only made her take a bath this morning and I pleaded for her and they told me that that’s the rule, it is only before you are brought to court then you can take a bath so we had to take wipes for her to be wiping up herself. The other thing is she is denied the use of the bathroom when she needs it. And the explanation is if there isn’t a female there to take you to the bathroom she can’t use the bathroom. And the truth is there are more male officers than female officers and so my client ended up with an infection. Because when I was called my client was already getting very ill, she was throwing up, foaming at the mouth, her nose was bleeding and she was just a nervous wreck, so I had to plea with the police officer on duty and he says well I want to help you but there are no females to escort her to the hospital. And I am like can we get a female from any other place and I told them I am not leaving and finally he says if you give me an undertaking the humanity in me will allow me to do that. So I had to go to the hospital so my client could get attention.
