Mother files report with Police

Death of prisoner

… post-mortem to be done tomorrow

Even as an investigation has been launched into the death of a 23-year-old prisoner, who succumbed to injuries on Sunday at the Georgetown Public Hospital, the family of the young man is hoping for justice and awaits the post-mortem results expected to be ready by Wednesday.
Guyana Times has been reliably informed that the now dead man’s mother made a report to the Alberttown Police Station, where an investigation into his death is to commence.
The prisoner, Shawn Thom, breathed his last at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was being treated for injuries he received while at the Camp Street Prison on May 26, 2018.
His demise was confirmed to this newspaper on Sunday by acting Director of Prisons, Kevin Pilgrim. During an interview, Pilgrim stated that he received a telephone call on Sunday morning informing him of the man’s demise.
He reiterated that upon Thom being discovered in a semi-conscious state on May 26, 2018, the prisoners with whom he had shared a cell told prison officers that he had sustained the injury in a fall.
Thom had reportedly stabbed another prisoner with a mop stick during a scuffle on May 25, 2018, and based on that incident, he had been relocated to another cell with three other inmates.
Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels had related that investigations were launched into both incidents, and the findings would be sent to the relevant authorities.
Those investigations, according to Pilgrim, had been completed and the findings were sent to the Public Security Ministry. Taking Thom’s demise into consideration, the investigations will be reopened.
Pilgrim has said that prison officials were waiting on the post-mortem results to decide their next step. However, he noted that ever since Thom’s admittance to the Georgetown Public Hospital, his mother has been in constant contact with the Prison Service.
The 23-year-old Thom had been serving two three-year consecutive sentences for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was expected to be released from prison in 2019.