Warder faces discipline for weekend escapade with prisoner
The inquiry into what has been described as a “breach” of procedure at the Hattieville Prison has concluded. Minister Responsible for Prisons Dickie Bradley, told News Five today that inmate Raymond Flowers did not simply walk out of the prison gates to have a fun weekend in the city last month but went through the proper procedure to request a special leave. Bradley says Flowers, who is serving time for the shooting death of a security guard at the Gourmet Restaurant in 1995, was granted leave to visit an ailing grandmother. Bradley says Flowers left the institution on Friday, November fifth with a security officer who was responsible for his care and custody that weekend. However, the inquiry has revealed that on Sunday, that officer, whose name Bradley declined to reveal, decided to attend a football match at the M.C.C. Grounds and took Flowers with him. This was a breach of procedure and so was the fact that neither men wore their prison uniforms. Although the Acting Superintendent of Prisons Jennifer Lovell initially told News Five that the inmate was in the company of three officers, the investigation reveals that only one of the warders was actually responsible for the prisoner. Bradley says following the inquiry, it has been recommended that the officer be disciplined for his actions. Bradley, who told News Five that he was not aware of Flowers’ special leave at the time, said the practice is nothing new.
Dickie Bradley, Minister Responsible for Prison
“The use of the word “weekend passes,” I don’t know where that came from but interestingly enough the senior management of the Prison Department informed me that this was widespread when the Leader of the Opposition honorable Dean Barrow was responsible for prisons that prisoners change their clothes into civilians, went home for weekends totally unsupervised and return at such days and such times.
In the case of Flowers there was permission given to Flowers to go out to his grandmother. It has subsequently come out of the inquiry that the officer who was supposed to supervise Flowers was negligent in the matter and that a recommendation has been sent to the Public Service Commission for discipline against that officer for negligence.”
Bradley said Flowers and the security officer returned to the prison on Monday, November eighth. The minister said contrary to media reports Flowers was never a suspect in the shooting at “the Hanger” on November fourth, nor the incident on Vernon Street on November seventh. As a result of the Flowers incident, Bradley says they have tighten up and will be restricting the amount of special leave granted. He could not confirm that Flowers started a fight at the game at M.C.C.
