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The most recent death of a prisoner in the custody of police at the Brickdam Police Station must be fully investigated by the relevant authorities and the Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee.According to leader of the main Opposition party, Robert Corbin, the regular deaths are becoming rampant and are reflective of the prison system.Corbin’s comment came in the wake of the death of James Nelson, 47, of Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara, who was found dead in the Brickdam lock-ups on Tuesday last.The police are claiming that Nelson had a history of mental illness and had sustained injuries, reportedly after banging his head against a cell wall.The dead man’s relatives, however, contend that he was the victim of foul play and are pleading for a thorough investigation into his demise.Nelson’s wife, Gloria, told Kaieteur News that the man was a mason and had recently worked on a fence at the Ministry of Home Affairs.He had also served in the Guyana Defence Force several years ago and had fathered two children.According to a police statement, Nelson was arrested at about 10:00hrs on Monday, after he had entered the compound of the Ministry of Home Affairs and had begun behaving disorderly. The statement said that Nelson alleged that a contractor owed him a sum of money and had sent him off the job.A guard subsequently arrested Nelson and handed him over to a police patrol, which took Nelson to the Brickdam Police Station.Having passed through the procedures for prisoners at the Brickdam Police Station, according to the police, prisoners incarcerated in the lockups at the time had reported that he was banging his head against the wall of the lockups.Nelson’s demise follows the death of at least three other prisoners, including Georgetown Prisons inmate, Edwin Niles, who succumbed after he was allegedly tortured.Two prison officers were found to be culpable and are before the courts charged with the man’s death.There is also the instance of Nolan Noble,Jerseys NFL Wholesale China, an inmate of the Camp Street penitentiary, who died as a result of blunt forced trauma to his head allegedly inflicted while he was incarcerated.James NelsonEdwin Niles |
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