Advice from an inmate

Grantley Bramble knows a thing or two about prison and he is warning persons, young men especially, to stay away.

“Are you going to leave your freedom and be locked down? Set your minds straight from criminal activity.{{more}} Prison does make you feel small,” said Bramble, as he addressed a gathering at a march and rally held at Redemption Sharpes on Sunday, August 29.

Bramble, who is serving a 20 year sentence at Her Majesty’s Prison, broke down a typical day in the life of a prisoner, which saw raised eyebrows at the Redemption Sharpes Playing Field.

“Yo have to get up at 5a.m., shower, and by 7a.m. they run prison count, then is “feed up” (breakfast) time and then them lock yo down again,” Bramble revealed.

“You mean yuh going leave Kentucky and Subway and come to jail fo them tell yuh is feed up time….Stop wey yuh dey and in order to do that yuh have to stay out of criminality,” he warned.

Neatly clad in a black shirt and mustard coloured pair of trousers, Bramble spoke with vigour, as he implored the nation’s youth to stay away from crime and violence.

In some ways, Bramble can be looked upon as a success story having taught a number of prisoners while in custody since his incarceration in 1997.

He urged young persons to dream and have a vision to look forward to.

“It is not too late to capture our nation’s youth. Don’t tell me about male marginalisation and male under achievement. I don’t believe that because we are taken up with what America says,” Bramble said.

Bramble said that we have to go back to traditional ways of disciplining our youth and lead them down the right path.

“We accustom to bend lash under the pickney when they do wrong….We could still save our youth. It doesn’t mean because I have the name of a convict that I have to throw my upbringing behind my back,” Bramble said emphatically.