The prison officers who were accused of breaching the Prison Act Cap 168 and the Public Service Act Cap 29 when they attended a party in 2022 in the presence of former Dodds inmates have been found not guilty.
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General secretary of Unity Workers Union (UWU), Caswell Franklyn, confirmed that the judgment, made late last year, was favourable to the officers he represented.
“There was a decision from a disciplinary panel. It was sent to the President and my understanding is that they have been exonerated. I represented them at the hearing, so it’s good for my ego because I won the case,” he said.
Franklyn said the laws were too vague and reasoned that if the warders were found guilty, there would be implications for other interactions between officers and former inmates in a small society.
“I heard them saying that they will revise
the prison legislation because it is archaic, but it is not only archaic but you have too many people who are out of their depth . . . So you would get these problems.
“You cannot have a situation in Barbados where a prison officer can’t get in a bus with a former prisoner, or if they go in a gas station and they are serving gas, you say they can’t serve you . . . . The law is too vague and stupid because if you see them on the bus, you’d have to get off. That law cannot possibly make sense,” he added.
On June 26, 2022, members of the public and prison officers attended a private Crop Over fete and pictures of the officers and former inmates at the event were circulated. The Nation understands that the officers and former inmates were relatives.
The officers who attended were then charged with committing misconduct of a serious nature, when, contrary to Rule 142 of the Prison Rules Cap 168, they “knowingly communicated
and associated with ex-prisoners” at the event.
They were also charged with committing misconduct and disregarding the ethical standards governing the profession when they took the photos with ex-prisoners . . . thereby contravening paragraph 2 (h) of the code of discipline set out in the third schedule to the Public Service Act Cap 29.
Since the incident, there was disciplinary action, including a pay cut. However, late last year, the prison officers were informed that following advice from the Protective Service Commission, which accepted a recommendation from the Investigatory Committee, they were to be reinstated and their salaries restored. ( TG)