Eight prison inmates died in less than two years, PN calls for immediate prison reform
The Nationalist Party demands that the government shoulders political responsibility for the deaths of eight prison inmates at a time when an immediate reform was required at Corradino Correctional Facility
The killer of a Gozitan warden, Ganni 'il-Muha', was found dead in his prison cell on Monday morning, making him the eighth inmate to have lost his life in Corradino's Correctional Facility in under two years.
This prompted the Nationalist Party to insist on immediate prison reform and to ask the government for a valid explanation for why inmates continue to lose their lives in prison.
"The Nationalist Party insists that each death that took place in the Corradino Facility is explained and for all the truth to come out. The prison authorities should tell us how and why each death took place and whether these deaths could have been avoided," the PN said in a statement on Monday.
The party said that despite the rhetoric on impending prison reform, Corradino was suffering from overpopulation and a lack of professionals and ancillary staff to monitor inmates' health conditions.
"The responsibility for this collapse should be shouldered. The Home Affairs Minister and the Labour government need to understand that they are politically responsible for every death that occurs in prison and that such responsibility should be shouldered," the PN said.
Before John Attard, the last inmate to have lost his life was a 49-year-old who was found unconscious on the floor of his cell last November. The Birkirkara man showed no signs of "external violence."
A magisterial inquiry had been launched.
A month before that, a Zabbar man was found lying prostrate in his Division 4 cell in October. The 30-year-old was pronounced dead when he was taken to Mater Dei hospital.
In the same year, in March, a 39-year-old man who was sectioned in Division 2 reportedly took his own life using a blanket.
In December 2018, an inmate was found dead after complaints that he was feeling under the weather. He had also allegedly asked prison wardens for medication to ease his pain.
In that same month, a 26-year old man was found dead on the very first day of his six-year sentence after he was found guilty of rape. It is understood that the young convict took his own life.
In June 2018, a 35-year-old foreign male inmate was found dead in his cell. There were no signs of external violence on his body.