DEVELOPING STORY: Prisoner escapes Camp Street jail

By Leroy Smith

A prisoner of the Camp Street Jail, Georgetown moments ago managed to scale the fence of what is supposed to be a highly secured facility.

While the details surrounding the escape are not fully available at this point, the News Room has been able to confirm that the inmate has since been recaptured.

Divisional Commander Assistant Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken and Acting Director of Prisons Senior Superintendent Gladwin Samuels both confirmed the incident.

The Camp Street Jail is the holding facility for many remanded prisoners and some who are serving time for various offenses including murders, rapes and armed robberies.

In 2002 Guyana witnessed a daring jail break from the same facility by five high-profile criminals who were all eventually killed after lending credence to one of the darkest periods of banditry and murders in the history of Guyana.

Last year, 17 prisoners were burnt to death in a riot which the inmates started themselves, lighting fires in the process. That incident prompted a Commission of Inquiry to listen to the concerns of the prisoners who are housed there and also to investigate the circumstances surrounding the violent riot.