A/HRC/16/52/Add.3 172. The children’s home was a permanent home for children. It had been privately run, but the Office of the Children’s Advocate had recently taken it over because of financial difficulties. The facilities and the female Superintendent made a positive impression on the Special Rapporteur. She claimed that the children (boys and girls from baby age up to 18) were not deprived of liberty, and that the bars were only for their protection. Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, “General Penitentiary”, Kingston Visited on 18 February 2010 173. The Special Rapporteur was received by Superintendent Leroy Fairweather, Deputy Superintendent Winston C. Anderson and Vice Deputy Superintendant Vincent McDovell. At the time of the visit 1,647 male detainees were held at the prison, including one boy. 174. The prison had a capacity of 900, but held 1,647 prisoners at the time of the visit, including one juvenile. The prison was comprised of eight blocks (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H), divided into North and South Sections, a Hospital Ward and Security Cells (also called Jail Section), which were likely used as solitary punishment cells, although this was denied by the officers. Sections E, F, G and H South were reserved for homosexuals and other vulnerable prisoners. Sections H and F North were Security Sections. The George Davis Centre was originally for female prisoners and was later used for prisoners with mental disabilities. According to the officers, there were no major incidents and no complaints about any beatings since 2007. In 2009, five prisoners had died. During the debriefing, Superintendent Fairweather admitted that overcrowding was a serious problem, and that he had to use single cells for three prisoners. 175. The prison was built in 1840 and was not made for providing rehabilitation to prisoners. Only 350 of the 1,650 prisoners had the possibility to receive education or work in the few workshops (carpentry, tailoring, wielding) available. There was also a serious shortage of staff. 463 staff members were employed at the prison, working in three shifts. Sanctions consisted primarily of revoking privileges, such as visits. Children could visit their fathers at least three times a year (e.g. at Christmas). 176. There were 147 schizophrenic detainees at Tower Street, who were not receiving appropriate medical treatment. There were three part-time psychiatrists who were there for a total of three days per week. Individual Interviews Special Location/ “Gay Section” (E, F, G, H South) 177. Eustace Hanson, aged 38, had been sentenced to death in 1990 and had spent four years on death row in St. Catherine. In 1994 his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and he was transferred to Tower Street. He spent two years at the Security Section of F and H North, but he was later transferred to the gay section, where conditions were better. He had been beaten a long time before, but not in recent years. Prisoners could be placed in the “punishment cells” for up to three months. 178. A detainee had been sent to Tower Street in October 2008; he was sentenced to four years imprisonment. He felt discriminated by the other inmates because he was homosexual and had been beaten by officers with batons. He was a musician and would like to use the instruments in the prison, but the other inmates used them and they refused to let him join. He was not accepted in the Rasta choir either because he was a homosexual. 53

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