Young offender complains about conditions in prison

A young man who was sent to jail for ‘bad behaviour’ has complained to the court about the cramped conditions at the prison and the food he was served.

When Kenshown Byam re-appeared before Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne at the Serious Offences Court on Wednesday, November 8, Prosecutor Renrick Cato informed Browne that there were some concerns that Byam wanted to raise about the time he spent in prison.

These were: being jammed in a jail cell with 24 inmates; having to sleep on the floor near a toilet; getting a “bad” night rest; having no bathroom; and receiving three square meals each day, but none being to his liking.

“I thought they used to give you big sliced fish, they don’t do that? And they does have nice baked bread…,” Browne questioned sarcastically.

Chief Magistrate, Rechanne Browne

Byam responded “No”.

“They didn’t have any fluffy blankets?” Browne continued.

Byam responded that he did have a blanket, but there was not much space in the cell for him to sleep, since there were so many of them in one cell.

“Quite cramped. You could’ve been quite warm too…,” she added.

“That is what bad man behaviour does get you into. Because it wasn’t getting into your head last week that your actions were wholly ridiculous.

“You seemed hell-bent that you were right, that you were justified to continue to your pursuit,” Browne said in a raised voice, as she referred to the matter that Byam had been charged with when he appeared before the court last week.

Byam was charged that on September 23, 2023 at Campden Park he assaulted Keith James of Campden park causing actual bodily harm.

“This was a young man waiting on the bus, not troubling anybody. You walk up to him, you all have an exchange of words, okay fine. Then you proceed to threaten him, ‘When you come back from wherever you come back, I have a…licking for you’ okay disciplinarian,” Browne said, as she recalled the events of the incident to Byam.

“Not satisfied with that, you take it upon your high horse to run home, get cutlass…and he is running for his life from you. ‘Plan’ him several times, fall down, get up, pick up stone, you keep pursuing him and he’s running…and you kept going, going, going,” she said, adding that these are the factors she had to consider in order to sentence him.

She started with a custodial sentence of 1.5 years. Aggravating of the offence was that it was motivated by revenge. There were no mitigating factors of the offence, so the court added two months to the sentence. There were no aggravating factors of the offender. Mitigating is that he has had no previous convictions.

Two months were then deducted from the sentence. He pleaded guilty, but not at the earliest opportunity so he was offered a one-quarter discount of four months from his sentence, resulting in a 12-month custodial sentence. However, the court will grant him a suspended sentence for one year.

Byam was ordered to compensate the victim $2,500, of which $1000 must be paid forthwith or he will go to jail for three months. The balance must be paid by December 20, 2023. In default, he will be imprisoned for six months.