Cabinet mulls the issue of youth incarceration

Discussions surrounding the incarceration of youth criminal offenders occupied
much attention and debate at Wednesday’s meeting of the Cabinet.
The Cabinet invited the Head of the Prison Visiting Committee, Bishop
Charlesworth Browne, who is also the Pastor of the Christian Ministries—a church
that is engaged in outreach, seeking to turn lives around- to address the body on the
issues of youth violence, custody of youthful offenders, and proposed solutions to
instructions and training of young offenders in order to rehabilitate them.
The Cabinet listened intently to the presentation before providing specific answers
to the issues raised. The Boys Training School located near the Village of Willikies
is under repair and will soon be completed. In the meantime, the youthful offenders
may be housed at His Majesty’s Prison or the former Air Force Base, which has
been declared a prison.
The 16-year-old who allegedly shot and killed the business proprietor a week ago
is being held on remand at the Prison.
The Pastor also proposed several specific undertakings and lessons which he
believes will assist the youthful offenders in thinking and measuring which would
lead to better decision-making that would enhance their life choices. The encounter
lasted more than 40 minutes, though the disagreements were many and the
rejections were respectfully communicated.
Point Express newspaper has been reliably informed that three youth offenders
who are being held on a number of charges, were housed at the Air Force base
when they broke through the roof and escaped from the building. They were,
however, recaptured prior to escaping from the compound. They were briefly
transferred to HM Prison while reinforcement was done to the roof, following the
completion of the repairs, they were returned to the facility, when they broke
through the roof for a second time.
They are now permanently being held at HM Prison.