Haitians are dying of thirst, starvation in severely overcrowded jails thegrio.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thegrio.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) The emaciated inmate in black shorts lay on a thin mat in Haiti’s most notorious prison, isolated from other prisoners at Port-au-Prince’s National Penitentiary because of drug-resistant tuberculosis. He slowly sat up to talk to a visiting reporter and more than 70 fellow tuberculosis patients gathered at the door of the […]
Haiti’s inmates are thirsty and starving in severely overcrowded jails, many forced to sleep standing up. The United Nations says 185 inmates died in Haiti last year many of malnutrition-related diseases and more than 20 have passed away so far this year. Human rights experts and attorneys expect the number to rise given gang violence leading to severe fuel and food shortages. More than 80% of Haiti’s roughly 11,400 inmates are being held in pre-trial detention and it could be years before they ever see a judge, if at all, according to human rights experts. Haitian law allows people to be held legally without charge for only 48 hours. But in Haiti, the law often isn’t followed.
The emaciated inmate in black shorts lay on a thin mat in Haiti’s most notorious prison, isolated from other prisoners at Port-au-Prince’s National Penitentiary because of drug-resistant tuberculosis.