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Volunteer Wrongly Imprisoned
A committed volunteer in Panama was wrongly accused and jailed for a crime she didn't commit. See how she became an inspiration to her fellow prisoners and to those who fought to get her released.
Early one morning, PF Panama volunteer Brenda Walcott awoke to find armed police at her door. Announcing that they were looking for weapons, they burst into her home and hurriedly searched through her belongings. Leaving her home in a shambles, Brenda was taken into custody and escorted to the prison barracks. She was accused of smuggling drugs to a prisoner during one of her recent visits. Unknown to Brenda, drugs had been hidden in felt-tip markers by the relative of one of the prisoners. However, it had been another person, not Brenda, who actually gave the markers to the prisoner.
She was dumbfounded by the accusation, saying that she had carried “nothing but the Word of God” into the prisons on that day. PF Panama Board Chairperson Udsy de Luque, who is also a lawyer, quickly came to Brenda‘s defence. She and the entire staff of PF Panama rallied around her, fighting for her exoneration and release.
Meanwhile, Brenda spent her first night on the hard prison floor, in filthy conditions with only a small towel to shield her from the cold. Hoping to comfort her, PF volunteers visited her the next day. But it was Brenda who encouraged the volunteers. Calm and courageous, Brenda was sharing the Gospel, and her ration of food, with the other prisoners.
After seven long days, Brenda, Udsy, and others appeared before the prosecutor, presenting sworn statements from those who were in the prison on that day. As a result of the evidence, Brenda was released and the case was dismissed.
Brenda says she is thankful for the extra empathy she now feels toward prisoners as a result of her experience. Many of PF Panama‘s leadership team share Brenda‘s unique sense of compassion due to their own experiences. PF Panama Executive Director Giovanni Niedda experienced imprisonment and torture as a political prisoner during the dictatorship of Manuel Noriega on the infamous “Black Friday” of 1987.
“They all have powerful testimonies,” says Gerardo Barreto, PFI International Services Director, of the staff and volunteers of PF Panama. “Their commitment and compassion toward prisoners is strong, despite the challenges they face daily.”
