Rodent patrols

During four days on a cardboard bed in the Half-Way Tree lock-up –in a 31-year-old case that has lingered in the system since 1995 – Courtney Anderson was introduced to the rats that patrol the cells, biting and searching for scraps from those behind bars.

Fixing his mind on surviving cell life until he was bailed, he said he was unprepared for the nightly rodent patrol.

“When the cell doors lock at nights, there is a big space at the bottom between the floor and door bottom. That’s where the rats come in at nights. So we use the slippers we wear outside to build a barrier at the door bottom. It sometimes stop the big rats from coming in, but it can’t stop the muss muss dem (baby rats) from coming in,” Anderson told The Gleaner moments after his release on bail last week.

“At nighttime, is dem do the patrolling. As soon as things get a little quiet they come on duty. And if you are not careful the big rats bite you on your foot, especially if you are the one lying on the ground with your foot to the door,” the 62-year-old explained.

Before his jailing on April 16, Anderson said the magistrate in Courtroom One had him escorted by police to locate the courtroom where he claimed the matter had been dismissed in 1996.

“He showed me about several different courtrooms, but I said to her that I still don’t recall. After that she ordered me arrested,” he said, following his release on $100,000 bail, surrender of his passport, and an order to report to the Duhaney Park Police Station twice weekly, on Mondays and Fridays.

Anderson said he was never asked to enter a plea.

Cell Life Survival

“When you go in the cell, you have to explain yourself. One guy in there for four years on remand, took to me and gave me my cardboard bed. Each person takes turn and clean the cell, but nobody didn’t ask me to do it. The guys clean the cell every day, and spray some little scented thing to make the place smell good,” he said.

Inmates must have at least two pairs of slippers, as those worn to the toilet cannot be worn inside. Towels are used as mats, and slippers are placed on them when returning from outside. If you don’t have a pair for inside, you either walk barefoot or use socks.

“If you want to pass gas, you go behind the curtain and say, ‘gas mask’. And you pass your gas. And in the morning now, you have to get up, put out, wash out your girl (urine bottle). One thing with the guys, they [are] clean. The cells have to be cleaned. They soap out the cells every morning. They clean it themselves, and they spread the rags at the entrance.”

Foul smells came from everywhere, including water running along channels in front of the cells where waste is swept and bleach used for sanitising.

Many inmates train their bodies to avoid using the facilities outside designated times – especially after lockdown – otherwise everyone must endure the smell until morning, said Anderson, who was desperate to bathe at home and use his own bathroom.

Urinals are plastic bottles.

Cells are opened between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., when inmates are counted using a bright flashlight shone in their faces. Breakfast – tea and a slice of round bread – is served around 10 a.m., while lunch/dinner, usually white rice with turkey neck or another meat, comes about 3 p.m., though he said he often did not eat it.

“I drink more water over that four days than anything else, because if you don’t want to eat then you won’t go to the toilet. I got some chicken on Thursday and some dinner on Sunday, and in-between I just drink water. I get like 10-15 minutes’ sleep. But, if you live somewhere decent and get locked up, it can lick your head. Even if you don’t live anywhere and experience prison, it not nice,” he said.

He praised one remand prisoner who treated him with respect, as did the others, but said he remains at a loss as to why he was jailed for a matter he insists was dismissed decades ago.

“I spent one night in lock-up in 1995. I said to myself, it naah happen again, ‘cause prison nuh nice. Why would I wait for 30 years, to go back? It wrong, miss. That time, I had no bail conditions. In fact, I was granted by own bail and come out the next day,” he said, his voice breaking.

“‘Nightmare’ does not really describe the situation, especially when you think about you space at your yard and your bed.”

According to Anderson, other inmates initially profiled him as an “old retired gunman”, whispering among themselves before he explained his situation. Upon release, he followed advice given by inmates to “wash off crosses” by taking an scallion bath in the river and throwing a coin inscribed ‘In God We Trust’ into the water.

Bail Process Stress

While the experience was a nightmare for Anderson, it proved equally stressful for newcomers standing as surety.

One woman at the Half-Way Tree office, who was bailing her brother, said she knew of cases where it took as long as three years for bail money to be returned. In one instance, she said, the threat of reporting the matter to the police led to a refund within two days.

She described the requirements as confusing and sometimes inaccurate.

She said she paid $47,000 to obtain a diagram of a property she was using as bond, only to later learn that a $600 title from the National Land Agency would have sufficed.

“When they told me to go to the Passport Office, I went to PICA (Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency) on Constant Spring Road and waited more than an hour before being told it was actually on Waterloo Road. They asked for his birth certificate. I brought the white copy I had, only to be told they wanted the blue one. I had to apply for a three-day service in Spanish Town. Every obstacle meant another day in jail,” said the woman, who gave her name only as Talia.

For first-time sureties, the process begins with a bail form from the court office outlining required documents. However, she said it does not explain the repeated back-and-forth, multiple payments, long waits for handwritten receipts, photocopying, police documentation, and interviews. If deemed unsuitable, the surety is disqualified.

A man waiting to bail his friend’s son questioned why the process could not be done online.

However, the clerk of court, who conducts suitability interviews, said the system has been tightened due to widespread fraud.

“We were arresting 25 to 30 persons per week for submitting fraudulent documents. We had to station a police officer right here to arrest people committing fraud. So it is they who have made it bad for everyone, and now we require original documents. We are responding to the situation presented to us,” he said.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com