Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterOrders to kill, ex-tort and rob are sometimes orchestrated from behind the walls of the island's penal institutions, by very powerful and influential inmates, who use their cellular phones to "run things" from their cells.
The police have linked at least 22 murders, committed in the country by one gang alone, to orders that came from behind the prison bars. Those murders were committed between 2000 and 2001. They say witnesses in especially shooting and murder cases, as well as attorneys, have been intimidated and the lives of several policemen threatened, all of this as a result of instructions that were given by criminals in the prisons.
"They use the cellular phones and give orders for their cronies to kill eye-witnesses and other persons coming to court," said Det. Senior Supt. Tony Hewitt, one of the country's leading investigators.
When 52-year-old Everette Edwards was killed in execution style November last year, intensive investigation led the police to the cell of a high-risk prisoner at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre (the former General Penitentiary).
During the search, police found letters with the name of persons who have been killed and others for whom execution orders have been given. Mr. Edwards' name was among the list of persons ordered to be killed. He was gunned down a day before he was scheduled to give evidence in the case where his sister-in-law, Sylvia Edwards was abducted and killed by the Joel Andem Gang.
The police also found a letter addressed to a very prominent attorney, stating that if the attorney did not comply with a particular demand, he could be in for serious trouble.
Hilary Phillips, QC, President of the Jamaica Bar Association said that she has not heard of any threats against attorneys by inmates using cellular phones. But she would refer it to the committee on criminal practice and procedure, which is concerned with all matters relating to attorneys who are practising criminal law.
The police are alleging too, that Garfield Mothersill was shot and killed on January 9 this year as a result of a direct order which came from behind the walls of the General Penitentiary. They say that a high-risk prisoner at the institution gave the orders because Mr. Mothersill had refused to comply with demands made by the prisoner.
Orders also came for the execution of a policeman who was on the trail of the Andem gang. The police say members of the gang killed his 10-year-old nephew and his brother-in-law when they did not catch him.
Head of the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN)888888 said the police are concerned about the use of cellular phones behind bars, as they allowed inmates to communicate with people on the outside.
But the recent passing of the Intercept Legislation (the Wire Tapping Act), will now permit the police to monitor some of these cellular calls from the prisons. National Security Minister said that the Act has been effective since March 15.
The specialists in various crimes, are in prison, according to Dr. Raymoth Notice, a former medical officer who worked in the penal institutions.
"You have the expert in car-jacking, larceny, fraud and the executionist. When my vehicle was stolen two years ago, it was information I got from within the prison that led to the recovery of my vehicle," said Dr. Notice.
The doctor stressed that inmates used their cellular phones to make calls and trace the whereabouts of his vehicle.
"The cellular phone is a very powerful instrument inside the prison, inmates use it to run their drug network and maintain control over their respective communities," Dr. Notice said.
It is also prominent in the strengthening of the gang network in and outside of the prison. A sub officer at Flying Squad and Dr. Notice share the view that the prisons are like university where, the young enter and leave "with a degree in crime", being able to continue that which they started in the prison.
It is illegal to have a cellular phone while incarcerated. But since the 1990s cellular phones in the hands of prisoners the penal institutions and police lock-ups are said by police to be posing a serious problem to law and order in the country.
During a prison inquiry in June 2000, John Prescod, the then Commissioner of Corrections, stated that correctional officers were responsible for cellular phones entering the prisons. At the same inquiry, inmates testified that prison warders were selling cellular phones in the prisons for $300 to $500.
Most of the instruments are pre-paid phones. Since 1996, the police and prison authorities have conducted numerous raids on lock-ups and at prisons, resulting in the seizure of more than 20 cellular phones.
