Margibi, KAKATA – A Margibi public defender has expressed alarm over the crowded nature of the Kakata Central Prison.
Attorney Kron Yangbe declared the state of the prison a serious problem facing the county’s justice system and he called for immediate actions to stabilize the situation.
Yangbe said the facility, which was constructed to hold no more than 60 inmates, now contained 157 prisoners, most of whom are pretrial detainees. He pleaded with the county attorney and the presiding judge to put in place the necessary legal framework to decongest the prison.
Attorney Kron Yangbe, a public defender in Margibi. Photo: Emmanuel Degleh
“With your cooperation, the county attorney and I can help reduce that number [of inmates],†Yangbe said. “The hallmark of every judge is to clear the docket and I can assure your honor that we will give you our fullest support.â€
The concern raised by the public defender has previously been raised by activists and is frequently cited by organizations like Human Rights Watch and the U.S. State Department in reports on the country’s human rights performance.
The 2015 human rights report by the U.S. State Department noted:
“According to the [Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation], approximately half of the country’s 2,203 prisoners were at Monrovia Central Prison (MCP). This prison operated at nearly three times its 375-person capacity because of the large number of pretrial detainees. The MCP population of 1,008 individuals included eight women and eight juveniles as of December, and there were approximately 20 women in other prisons. Prisons remained understaffed and prison personnel were irregularly paid.â€
Judge George Wiles is presiding over the 13th judicial court in Margibi for the November term. Photo: Emmanuel Degleh
Meanwhile, the resident judge of the seventh judicial circuit court in Grand Gedeh, who is presiding over the 13th judicial court in Margibi for this November term, George Wiles, said he would use the appropriate legal means to decongest the prison, especially for those who have had prolonged detentions without a trial.
Wiles said many Liberians had the tendency of only seeing those they accused of crimes being arrested but were indifferent regarding engagement with the cases to their legal conclusion.
He said it was noteworthy that the justice system starts with the police before going to court which is the final arbiter of justice, and stressed the need for the full cooperation of all judicial actors to ensure the proper dispensation of justice.
The 13th judicial circuit court has a crowded docket for this November term, with about 40 cases, 34 of which are criminal cases.
Featured photo by UN Photo/Christopher Herwig
