Justice Now Says Prison Leadership Change Won’t Fix Systemic Failures

A change at the top of His Majesty’s Prison is doing little to ease the concerns of families demanding answers over deaths and the treatment of vulnerable inmates, according to pressure group Justice Now.

The group says the appointment of an acting prison superintendent cannot be treated as a solution to problems it believes are rooted throughout the prison system.

Speaking on Observer AM, Justice Now spokesperson Khalid Shabazz said the recent change in leadership offers little comfort to his family, arguing that Acting Superintendent Jermaine Anthony represents the same system that failed his son.

Colonel Trevor Pennyfeather recently proceeded on pre-retirement leave following heightened public scrutiny over conditions at His Majesty’s Prison. Anthony has since taken over in an acting capacity.

Shabazz said replacing senior officials does not amount to accountability for families who have lost loved ones.

Justice Now is also continuing to call for broader prison reforms, including the resignation of Attorney General Sir Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin.

At the centre of the group’s concerns is the treatment of inmates with mental health conditions. Justice Now says people requiring psychiatric care are being kept in prison cells instead of being treated at Clarevue Psychiatric Hospital.

Shabazz and other relatives have maintained that vulnerable inmates remain at risk in an institution that, they argue, has not undergone the changes needed to protect them.

The group wants authorities to address what it describes as systemic failures in the prison system and introduce immediate reforms to the treatment and care of inmates with mental health conditions.

Its demands come while a formal coroner’s inquest into the inmate’s death has yet to begin.

Justice Now plans to take its concerns to the streets next Thursday, September 24, with a peaceful picket outside Police Headquarters on American Road.

The demonstration is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., with the group using the protest to press its demands for justice, accountability and changes to the prison system.

This story was adapted from original reporting by Sharon N. Simon of the Antigua Observer by NewsCo.