Petrina Francis, Staff ReporterTHIRTY-FOUR of a batch of 74 mentally ill inmates who were lost in the prison system after being declared unfit to plead, have been processed and sent home in the last two years, Major Richard Reese, Commissioner of Corrections disclosed Friday.
During a tour of the upgraded psychiatric wing at the St. Catherine District Prison, Major Reese said his department was working with the Ministry of Justice and the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) to see how many more mentally ill inmates could be returned home.
NEW STRATEGY
Currently, there are approximately 130 mentally ill inmates in the St. Catherine District Prison but only 67 are being housed in the psychiatric wing.
Major Reese told reporters that the inmates were separated into three different categories: acute, sub-acute and chronic. He said the inmates who are sub-acute and acute are being housed in individual cells because they could be harmful to other inmates or themselves. The new strategy, he said has been working satisfactorily.
The Commissioner of Correct-ions said the next step is to
provide the mentally ill inmates with uniforms so they can be identified.
