The Future of Jamaica is in Danger!!

 

Photo by: The Texas Tribune - https://flatpage-archive.texastribune.org/library/data/tjjd-youth-violence-up/

The photo displays the  Metcalfe Street Secure Juvenile Remand Centre in Kingston, Jamaica

Photo by: Radio Jamaica- http://radiojamaicanewsonline.com/assets/img/stories/display_pic/1645660228lfe_Street_Juvenile_Centre_2.jpg

Our wards are dying, this is what is happening in Jamaica to our youths. "We are the officers that are rarely regarded as being part of law enforcement. We are the ones who have to control ruthless, mean, and violent criminals without any weapons. In time, we too will be recognized for our necessary, if not glamorous, service. quoted by the blog on love and blues. (Everly, 2021).  This quote elaborates on the duty of correctional officers but clearly some correctional officers in Jamaica does not follow the rules and guidelines attach to their job. Who is a juvenile? A juvenile can be classified as a child under the age of 18 who has committed a crime and has been sentenced to a juvenile center. When a juvenile is placed in a juvenile centre, they are then referred to as a "ward" and are placed under the supervision of the juvenile centre by correctional officers. A juvenile center is a facility where juveniles or wards obtain rehabilitation and get a better chance at life. Therefore, in today’s blog, the topic that will be discussed is a ward who was shot and killed while attempting to flee the Metcalfe Street Secure Juvenile Remand Centre in Kingston, Jamaica. The ethical issues of correctional officers have left a ward shot and killed. These correctional officers have breached ethical guidelines and conduct outlined in the Corrections Act of Jamaica and should therefore be punished for these unethical actions.

A ward that was placed at the Metcalfe Street Secure Juvenile Remand Centre was shot and killed by correctional officers. According to Radio Jamaica News, the ward who was shot while attempting to flee the Metcalfe Street Secure Juvenile Remand Centre in Kingston on February 10, 2022 has died. The ward was identified as Henrique Hemmings, who died in the hospital on February 23, 2022, stated by the Department of Correctional Services. According to the Department of Correctional Services, the teen-Hemmings, as well as another ward, decided to break out of their dormitories on February 10, 2022, minutes after 5 in the morning. While escaping, the other ward was not successful in his escape. However, Hemmings worked his escape over the wall of the Juvenile Centre. When the correctional officers got aware of the escape, they opened fire on Hemmings, injuring him. A nearby police team was immediately notified by the shots fired and discovered Hemmings on the ground suffering from bullet wounds. Later, an INDECOM investigation was launched to investigate this shooting. The Independent Commission of Investigation announced its investigation into the shooting at the Juvenile Centre on February 10, 2022, of a ward has now graduated to a fatal shooting investigation. Hugh Faulker, INDECOM Commissioner, stated that the three correctional officers who released their firearms were identified, and their statements have been recorded. The correctional officers were questioned as well, and their firearms have also been recovered, analyzed, and sent to be ballistic tested. Mr. Faulker stated that "the surveillance cameras on the compound of the juvenile facility will be examined to the extent to extract whatever evidential value they may contain" (Radio Jamaica, 2022).

Moreover, published in the Gleaner, this same case was discussed where Hemmings had spoken about the shooting incident before he died, the sixteen-year-old ward who had died after receiving severe injuries after attempting to flee the Metcalfe Street Secure Juvenile Remand Centre in Kingston. Hemmings reportedly told his mother that a member of staff encouraged him to flee, giving him directions on how and when to do so. Henrique Hemmings was 15 years old at the time of the shooting on February 10^th and celebrated his 16^th birthday on February 16th on a hospital bed. His mother, June Davis, 55 years old, informed the Gleaner that her son made the confession while she was visiting him in the hospital (The Gleaner, 2022).

What ethical issues were present in this case of  this ward losing his life? The ethical issues that are evident in this case are the excessive use of force and the violation of rules and conduct. According to Jamaica's Corrections Act, the first ethical issue was clearly the excessive use of force. Section 15 subsection 1 states, "Every correctional officer may use weapons against any inmate who he has reasonable grounds to believe is escaping or attempting to escape; but resort shall not be had to the use of any such weapons unless such officer has reasonable grounds to believe that he cannot otherwise prevent the escape." Subsection 4 of this same section states: "Before using firearms against an inmate under the authority contained in subsection (l), the correctional officer shall, if possible, give the inmate a warning that he is about to fire on him." And lastly, subsection 6 of the same section also states that "the use of firearms under this section shall be, as far as possible, to disable and not to kill." (The Corrections Act, 1985) So section 15 subsection 1 of the act clearly states that correctional officers may use weapons if there is an attempt to escape the prison facility, and subsection 4 of the same section states that before attempting to use a firearm, the correctional officer should fire a warning shot so the inmate or ward is aware that he or she is going to be fired on, but in the case of Hemmings, there was no evidence that the correctional officers fired a warning shot in the report. Subsection 6 of this same section states that the use of a firearm under this section shall be used to injure or disable, not to kill, but in Hemmings’s case, his mother stated in an interview that he got four shots, 1 close to the heart, 1 to the kidney and 2 in his upper thighs (The Gleaner, 2022). Now if the act states "shoot to not kill," why did the correctional officer shoot him four times? Could they not have given him a flesh wound? This case is just very heartbreaking to see that the life of a 16-year-old is gone down the drain, and his death could have been prevented. The second ethical issue is the violation of rules and conduct, so based on the report that the mother gave that her son told her on his death bed that he was persuaded by a member of staff that he would help him to escape the facility and that same correctional officer was the one who shot him, how is this ethical? According to The Corrections Act of Jamaica, Section 56 subsection 2(a) states that any person who knowingly assists or induces a person to commit any such offence as is mentioned in subsection (1) such as aiding in an escape shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and liable on summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment (The Corrections Act, 1985). So right there and then, this specific correctional officer had breached this section. How can a correctional officer who is there to ensure that these wards do not escape, assist to help him escape, and on top of that, shoot him? Is this the mentality of our correctional officers?  How is it that Hemmings was the only ward that got shot and there were two wards escaping? This then means that inmates and wards will occasionally get hurt or die by the hands of these correctional officers. Does these correctional officers take into consideration the value of life despite what the offender had done, they are someone’s child? Our youths are dying; are they not our country's future? Stop killing the youths! These correctional officers should be given the full length of the law that will correct their unethical behavior so we can have good correctional officers to help rehabilitate our offenders.

In summary, the ethical issues of correctional officers have left a ward shot and killed. These correctional officers have breached ethical guidelines and conduct outlined in the Corrections Act of Jamaica and should therefore be punished for these unethical actions. In the blog post, the case of Hemmings was discussed. He was the ward that died after being shot for attempting to escape from the Metcalfe Street Secure Juvenile Remand Centre in Kingston, Jamaica. Based on reports, the correctional officers had breached a number of sections within the Corrections Act of Jamaica, namely Section 14 Subsection 1,4,6 which states that a correctional officer may use force if inmates are escaping. Furthermore, they should give a warning to the inmates or wards that they are about to be fired on, and lastly but most importantly, do not shoot to kill, only shoot to injure, or disable. In Hemmings' case, all these sections were breached because they did not send off a warning shot, nothing like that was listed in the report, and second, the use of too much force, he got 4 shots and to the extent the ward had died. Section 56 of the Corrections Act, subsection 2(a): Any person who knowingly assists or induces another person to commit any of the offences mentioned in subsection (1) such as aiding in an escape,  shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and liable on summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for a term not exceeding two years, or to both such fine and imprisonment. Based on a report, the mother told the Gleaner that her son confessed that he was persuaded by a correctional officer that he could help him escape the facility, and this same correctional officer was the one that shot him, leading to his death. These correctional officers should be given the full length of the law for they did not take into consideration the value of this 15-year-old life. This is someone's son, brother, cousin, and uncle. How is that family feeling right now to hear that their family member has died, and his death could have been prevented? Were the actions of these correctional officers ethical?

The video down below, is the interview of Hemming’s Mother, viewers and readers take a look at this interview and share your thoughts on this video (The Gleaner, 2022).

  

Video by: The Gleaner-   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE445cPaj8s&t=313s

 

 

References

Everly, L. (2021, May 3). 15 Correction Officer Quotes For Those On The Thin Gray Line. Love and Blues. https://loveandbluesblog.com/correction-officer-quotes/#:%7E:text=1%20%E2%80%9CEvery%20day%2C%20correction%20officers%20smile%20at%20the,regarded%20as%20being%20part%20of%20law%20enforcement.%20

Radio Jamaica. (2022, February 23). Ward Dies After Being Shot During Attempt To Escape Juvenile Facility. Radiojamaicanews. http://radiojamaicanewsonline.com/local/ward-dies-after-being-shot-during-attempt-to-escape-juvenile-facility

The Corrections Act. (1985, December 2), enactedhttps://moj.gov.jm/sites/default/files/laws/The%20Corrections%20Act.pdf

The Gleaner. (2022, February 24). Ward, who was shot during an escape attempt, told his mom he was encouraged to flee, has died [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE445cPaj8s&t=313s

The Gleaner. (2022, February 24). Ward, who was shot during an escape attempt, told his mom he was encouraged to flee, has died - Multimedia - Jamaica Gleaner News Online. News | Jamaica Gleaner. https://videos.jamaica-gleaner.com/videos/video.php?id=5268