A Look at Life Behind Bars

The students looked up at the big red gates with apprehension.  They had heard much about Antigua and Barbuda’s lone prison situated in the east of the capital of St. John --an old barracks converted to a prison in 1735--but they had only imagined what it was like on the inside.  Now they were entering the gates and would see for themselves.

Fortunately this was just a visit.  The students arrived at the prison with some of their teachers at the invitation of Prison Fellowship Antigua and Barbuda.  This unique prison visit was part of PF’s Week of Prayer and was made to help stem the growing tide of youth crime.  Students from area grammar and secondary schools comprised the group of more than 145 youth, who were accompanied by 18 teachers.

The wide-eyed visitors got a small taste of prison life as soon as they entered the facility when they were told to hand over their cellular phones, school bags and other personal items before proceeding.  Before taking a general tour of the prison compound, they gathered in the prison courtyard where PF Antigua and Barbuda Board Chairperson Edmund Green said a prayer and introduced Prison Superintendent Eric Henry, who is also a founding Board Member of PF.  He spoke passionately to the students about the consequences of crime and violence.  Describing the harsh realities of prison life, Mr. Henry advised the youth to stay away from gangs and any friends who are a bad influence.  Everyone involved in a crime will be sent to jail, he cautioned, not just the ringleaders of a gang.  Cornelia Michael, the newly appointed Executive Director of PF Antigua and Barbuda, also spoke to the students about life behind bars.

Adding to the impact of the day’s events, the students then heard from three inmates, who convincingly conveyed that crime has dire consequences.  One of the prisoners explained that he had killed a person in revenge, but now he sorely wishes he had not “taken the law into his own hands.”  He explained that his crime had a high cost not just for him, but for his entire family, who were now suffering as a result of his imprisonment. A female inmate also spoke of the effects her incarceration has had on her family.  The worst part, she told them, is being away from her young child.  She advised them to listen to their parents, something she said she regrets not having done.

Studies indicate that people are more likely to commit crimes when they are young—between the ages of 15 and 19.  Criminal involvement tends to decline markedly once they reach their 20s.  And those who do break the law at very young ages are more likely to become persistent offenders with longer criminal careers .  “Deaths and injuries from youth violence constitute a major threat to public health and social and economic progress across the Caribbean,” declared a May 2007 report by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).  “Youth are disproportionately represented in the ranks of both victims and perpetrators of crime and violence,” the report concluded.  So reaching the young with crime prevention programmes as PF Antigua and Barbuda is doing is crucial. 

Fortunately, the young people on this day’s prison tour did appear to get the message.  “I’m not coming back here,” announced one young student.  Faced with frequent temptations to experiment with drugs, join a popular gang, take part in a theft or become involved in other types of criminal behaviour, few of today’s youth are confronted with the actual consequences of these types of actions.  Thanks to Prison Fellowship, these young people now have a very real sense of what such choices can lead to, before it’s too late.