Haiti Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Haitian penitentiary system === Port-au-Prince [[Prison|penitentiary]] is home to half of Haiti's prisoners. The prison has a capacity of 1,200 [[Detention (imprisonment)|detainees]] but {{as of|2017|November|lc=y}} the penitentiary was obliged to keep 4,359 detainees, a 363% occupancy level.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |url=https://apnews.com/a43ce17acfd0425cb2af90a1133a8418 |title=Malnutrition killing inmates in Haiti jails |work=apnews.com |first=David |last=McFadden |date=20 February 2017 |access-date=2 January 2020}}</ref> The inability to receive sufficient funds has caused deadly cases of [[malnutrition]], combined with the tight living conditions, increases the risk of infectious diseases such as [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="auto" /> Haitian law states that once arrested, one must go before a judge within 48 hours; however, this is very rare. In an interview with ''[[Unreported World]]'', the prison governor stated that around 529 detainees were never sentenced, and there are 3,830 detainees who are in prolonged detained trial detention. Therefore, 80% are not convicted.<ref>{{Citation|last=Unreported World|title=Haiti's prison from hell {{!}} Unreported World|date=30 November 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwE_uUgomd0|access-date=30 March 2018}}</ref> Unless families are able to provide the necessary funds for inmates to appear before a judge there is a very slim chance the inmate would have a trial, on average, within 10 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/20/living-hell-officials-alarmed-by-upsurge-inmates-dying-in-haiti-prisons.html|title=Living hell: Officials alarmed by upsurge of inmates dying in Haiti prisons|date=20 February 2017|work=Fox News|access-date=30 March 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> In confined living spaces for 22β23 hours a day, inmates are not provided with latrines and are forced to [[Defecation|defecate]] into plastic bags. These conditions were considered inhumane by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2008.<ref name="prison">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39034992|title=Haitian prison rife with malnutrition|date=21 February 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=30 March 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> On 3 March 2024, armed gangs stormed the main prison in Port-au-Prince and around 3700 inmates escaped, while 12 people were killed.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68462851 | title=Haiti violence: Haiti gangs demand PM resign after mass jailbreak | work=BBC News | date=3 March 2024 }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page