Kolbe Foundation C.E.O. says Bail Application Hearings Held Virtually

According to Murillo, instituting a lockdown played a crucial role in controlling the COVID-19 spread at the Belize Central Prison. He says that the Kolbe Foundation is working along with the courts to ensure that legal proceedings such as bail applications are done virtually.

Virgilio Murillo, C.E.O., Kolbe Foundation

“Obviously the twenty one day lockdown worked. There is no doubt about it because remember when I did that was because we came across ninety cases at one blow. That was almost fifty percent of the hundred and eighty six tests that were done. So I made the decision to lock down the prison for twenty one days, reducing all traffic and I even had the courts avoid taking out the prisoners for going to trial and those kinds of things. We activated the video to court link and that reduced the need for prisoners to having to go to court in persons. Some of those measures continue to take place. Bail applications and all f those things continue to happen virtually with the exception of trials here we have cases where the inmates are tested prior to going for trial. Only those inmates who have a negative result would be taken out of prison. Of course the judges are assisting in making sure when they are dealing with the trials of the inmates they make sure that they are kept away from people so that they don’t run the risk of getting infected and bringing back the infection into the prison. So I think all of those measures are working for us for right now.”

Hipolito Novelo

“And you have enough PPEs?”

Virgilio Murillo

Virgilio Murillo

“We have enough PPEs. We have enough face masks for sure. Hand sanitizers chemicals, we received a little donation the other day. So we are okay but there is also a need for those things. So if anybody wants to be considerate towards the prison please feel free.”