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PF National Organisations Working to Alleviate Prison Overcrowding
Up one levelPF national ministries around the world addresses prison overcrowding in a variety of ways including legal assistance, lobbying the government for reform, and working on government committees. These stories highlight some of this work.
- Facilitating Prisoner Releases in Liberia
- Recently, PF Liberia aided the release of 36 prisoners held for more than 180 days without trial in Monrovia Central Prison and Kakata Prison Centre.
- Liberating the Captives
- It started with a family feud and then Zanele Dlamini found herself in prison. When her half-sister accused her of stealing, Zanele fervently protested her innocence. But she couldn’t afford legal representation and under duress she confessted to the theft. Now she and her baby were facing ten months in prison because she couldn’t pay the fine of just $30USD.
- Ensuring Due Process for Prisoners in Liberia
- Prison Fellowship Liberia is participating in a Case Flow Committee created by the national government to review the cases of prisoners being held without trial. Each week, the committee – consisting of representatives from the United Nations Mission in Liberia, the Ministry of Justice and PF Liberia – reviews cases to identify prisoners who have not been formally charged in court.
- Defending the Poor
- On the day he was released from prison he began looking for work. He knew his family had suffered during his time in prison and he desperately wanted to begin providing for them again. It was difficult going. Then one afternoon, a few days later, the police came and accused him of committing a robbery in the area. He was summarily arrested and dragged off to prison. As an ex-prisoner, his guilt was readily assumed. Unable to afford legal help, his conviction is all but assured. His situation is bad, and his family’s welfare is worse than ever. He feels totally isolated, forgotten and alone.
- PF Zimbabwe Addresses Prison Overcrowding
- Recently, Peter Mandianike, PF Zimbabwe’s Executive Director, addressed the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs regarding the substandard condition of Zimbabwe’s prisons. His intervention followed a senior prison official’s report that widespread malnutrition and disease is spreading in Zimbabwe prisons due to rampant overcrowding and the lack of funding for food and medicines.