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Freed from Prison
The right to a speedy trial is a right that many prisoners are denied. Edgar waited two years in a Panama prison for his case to be tried. Click here to read his story.
It had been two long years and his case still hadn‘t gone to trial. Accused of a crime he did not commit, Edgar spent the last two years behind the razor-topped fence of La Joya Prison - waiting. Visits from his family and from PF Panama volunteers helped bolster him during the endless days of waiting. Today he would see his mother in a different role than that of her usual visit to the prison. She was one of the 50 volunteers participating in PFI‘s Global Assistance Medical Project. International medical personnel from the Christian Medical & Dental Association were joined by more than 30 local Panamanian volunteers to provide medical, dental and counselling services to the prisoners.
The project received strong support from the Office of the First Lady, the Mayor and Council of Panama City, and the Ministry of Government and Justice. Edgar‘s mother, a dental assistant, was quick to introduce her son to the volunteers from PF Panama. Edgar told them that his trial date had finally arrived and he feared that he would not be able to convince the judge of his innocence. The group gathered to pray that Edgar would be freed to return home to his wife and daughter.
The following day the volunteers were back at La Joya, treating the prisoners‘ physical ailments and praying for their spiritual needs. Edgar‘s mother was back as well, but Edgar wasn‘t - he had been acquitted of all charges and released. During the project‘s closing service in the prison, Edgar came back with the volunteers to express his deep gratitude to the PF team. Instead of being bitter over his undeserved prison stay, his heart was filled with gratitude - for PF Panama, the volunteer medical team and most of all to the Lord.
