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The annual Prison Concert scheduled for tomorrow, December 17 will be without some of its former star performers.
This as a significant number of the prison population was not allowed to be a part of this year’s show.
Superintendent of Prisons (Ag) Dwayne Bailey told ANN that some inmates were disallowed from performing at the event because of the number of serious infractions against them throughout the year.
According to Bailey, the infractions range from possessing prohibited items, including cellular phones, chargers and those who committed assaults against other inmates or members of staff.
Prison staff were charged with the task of getting the names of those among the prison population who were interested in performing.
But Bailey said that when the final list got to his desk, he eliminated some of the names from the list.
Bailey who heads the facility at Belle Isle further explained that seeing that the venue for this year’s prison concert had changed from the original location behind the High Court/Parliament Building to the Solidarity Inc Car Park, some inmates were deemed a security risk and were also taken off the list.
He told ANN that he did not want to identify any of the affected inmates, however ANN has been reliably informed that among those persons not permitted to perform include Roland ‘Maxi Priest’ Mc Donald who was sentenced to two years and nine months for wounding.
The SP (Ag) explained that McDonald was found in possession of a cellular phone and was punished for that offence.
Bailey said that he thought that it was too soon for McDonald to be a part of the concert and took his name off the list.
ANN was also informed that Javorn Samuel and Junior Jarvis were also among those removed from the list of performers.
Samuel is currently serving time for wounding his ex-girlfriend and her mother back in 2014 while Jarvis is serving a life sentence for the murder of Randy Lawrence back in 2017.
Samuel has featured in past prison concerts, particularly in 2019 where he was credited with writing a skit ‘Dutty Man’.
While addressing the issue, SP Bailey told ANN that several inmates had their Christmas privileges revoked for committing serious infractions.
ANN was reliably informed that as many as 66 prisoners at the Belle Isle facility were deprived of any Christmas privileges for offences committed and ‘bad behavior’.
This media outlet understands that among the inmates who have had their privileges revoked are Junior Jarvis, Veron Primus, Mwata Henry and Javorn Samuel.
Samuel is said to have been charged with drug and phone possession and running a gang in prison and was said to have been kicked out of the Belle Isle facility and was being held at His Majesty’s Prison in Kingstown under security.
According to Bailey, some inmates were allowed certain privileges during the Christmas season including visits from relatives, the receipt of emails from loved ones on Christmas and Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and between December 13 and January 2, members of the public were allowed to take food items, snacks etc to inmates at the facility.
But those who were found to have numerous infractions were denied these privileges.
“My reason for that was simple, you can’t be getting a series of infractions throughout the year, disobeying the prison rules and regulations and at the end of the year, you and all the other inmates getting the same sort of privileges,” Bailey told ANN.
“If I am inmate and I am abiding by the rules, and then all those who had infractions throughout the year getting the same privileges as me, then what is the incentive for me to behave myself?” he continued.
