Fragmented Bureaucracy and the Prison Dilemma in Panama
I’ve long known about the abysmal conditions behind prison walls throughout Latin America and a recent article in Latin American Press shone some more light on the complications of the situation. click here for article Overcrowding, poor access to medical care, a lack of potable water and edible food, and rampant inmate violence are some of the symptoms of this problem. The causes are under-funding, corruption within the legal system and blatant ignorance towards Constitutional Law.
The prisons in Panama are over capacity by more than four thousand inmates and the government wishes to pass a bill to reform its Criminal Code, which would strengthen penalties and no doubt lead to a growing wave of new arrests. Beyond the deplorable living conditions, the prison system is accused of other human rights abuses, such as a lack of rehabilitation programs (a violation of the American Convention on Human Rights) and violating the pretrial detention limitations (a whopping 63% of inmates have yet to be convicted).
The Panamanian government is clearly off the mark with their remedy for the prison crisis, but how do you begin to rectify such a dynamic and historically entrenched problem? Holding steadfast to the Constitutional Laws already in place would seem like a logical beginning. Detainees should legally come before a judge within 24 hours and preliminary investigations cannot exceed 4 months. These terms can be legally extended and the judiciary is accused of frequently abusing this ‘law of exceptional circumstances’. According to a report by the US Department of State, “the average period of pretrial custody was 12 months, and pretrial detention in excess of the maximum sentence for the alleged crime was common.” click here for report The optimist in me would hope that a politically committed leader alone could make great strides towards curbing corruption among his governing authorities, but in a culture of nepotism and bribery, corruption sometimes seems woven into the system itself.
I’ve long known about the abysmal conditions behind prison walls throughout Latin America and a recent article in Latin American Press shone some more light on the complications of the situation. click here for article Overcrowding, poor access to medical care, a lack of potable water and edible food, and rampant inmate violence are some of the symptoms of this problem. The causes are under-funding, corruption within the legal system and blatant ignorance towards Constitutional Law.
The prisons in Panama are over capacity by more than four thousand inmates and the government wishes to pass a bill to reform its Criminal Code, which would strengthen penalties and no doubt lead to a growing wave of new arrests. Beyond the deplorable living conditions, the prison system is accused of other human rights abuses, such as a lack of rehabilitation programs (a violation of the American Convention on Human Rights) and violating the pretrial detention limitations (a whopping 63% of inmates have yet to be convicted).
The Panamanian government is clearly off the mark with their remedy for the prison crisis, but how do you begin to rectify such a dynamic and historically entrenched problem? Holding steadfast to the Constitutional Laws already in place would seem like a logical beginning. Detainees should legally come before a judge within 24 hours and preliminary investigations cannot exceed 4 months. These terms can be legally extended and the judiciary is accused of frequently abusing this ‘law of exceptional circumstances’. According to a report by the US Department of State, “the average period of pretrial custody was 12 months, and pretrial detention in excess of the maximum sentence for the alleged crime was common.” click here for report The optimist in me would hope that a politically committed leader alone could make great strides towards curbing corruption among his governing authorities, but in a culture of nepotism and bribery, corruption sometimes seems woven into the system itself.
posted by Spencer at 6:27 PM
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