Females defeat males in HM Prison's 1st ever inmates debate
According to the Government Information Service (GIS) in a press release on February 26, 2024, the initiative was a partnership between the prison and the New Life Baptist Church (NLBC) and is expected to be an annual event.
The female and male debate teams argued over the moot, ‘Why is the rate of reoffending so high and what can the prison do to reduce the numbers.’
'We must invest in rehabilitative measures'- Hon Vincent O. Wheatley
Minister for Health and Social Development Honourable Vincent O. Wheatley (R9) said that with ongoing discourse surrounding prisoner rehabilitation and the Territory’s prison system, events like the debate underscores the prison’s commitment to listen to inmates and develop strategies to help with rehabilitation.
Honourable Wheatley said, “To break this cycle, we must invest in rehabilitative measures within our prison services, providing inmates with the tools and support needed for successful reintegration into society, ensuring that the path to redemption is paved with genuine opportunities for change and growth.”
The minister added, “This debate was a great initiative and I must give credit to the Prison Ministry arm at the New Life Baptist Church and His Majesty Prison for a wonderful initiative.”
Meanwhile, Superintendent of Prisons Mr Jay Kendall emphasised his team’s commitment to ensure that there is a long-term goal and strategy behind prisoners' rehabilitation at the prison.
'Suggestions & ideas' haven't fallen on deaf ears
Mr Kendall said, “Events such as this are really important. For inmates to have their voice heard in terms of what they think the reasons are why people reoffend and what some of the solutions may be. My pledge today is that, based on what has been said, some of the suggestions and ideas will be included in my three-year strategic plan as we look to develop His Majesty's Virgin Islands Prison Service.”
The Superintendent also thanked the rehabilitation team at the prison for their continued hard work and constant innovating new ideas to enhance the institution’s rehabilitative process.
The female team was declared winners of the debate and received $500 for their efforts. The valiant effort of the male team was also acknowledged and they received $250 which will be split between team members when they are released.
Meanwhile, Pastor of the Cane Garden Bay Baptist Church, Reverend Dr Michael A. Turnbull, who was the moderator of the event, also pledged to donate five laptops from the Cane Garden Bay Baptist Church to His Majesty's Prison to further assist with the prison’s rehabilitative efforts of prisoners.
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22 Responses to “Females defeat males in HM Prison's 1st ever inmates debate”
Please to let you know that I met a man yesterday who is a from here.he is living in the USA for the past 50yrs and it's the first time he is coming back to the from here and did not know where to go so keep your not from here to your self Please what a damn shame bòoooooo.
Research has shown that up to 40% of prisoners are dyslexic. Dyslexia is a powerful creative ability, but without understanding, it can become a powerful destructive disability.
Asher & Martin Hoyles book "Dyslexia from a Cultural Perspective" is essential reading on this subject and this short video is essential viewing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtFKNPrJhJ4
In those days, the prison was next door to the church and on the death of my first wife, every one of the inmates, together with prison wardens and the government minister, attended her Memorial Service.
More recently, I have given workshops on dyslexia for prison officers here in Dominica.
This passage by Erich Fromm in his book “Escape from Freedom” is relevant:
"It would seem that the amount of destructiveness to be found in individuals is proportional to the amount to which the expansiveness of life is curtailed. By this I do not refer to individual frustrations of this or that instinctive desire but to the thwarting of the whole of life, the blockage of spontaneity of the growth and expression of man’s sensuous, emotional and intellectual capacities. Life has an inner dynamism of its own; it tends to grow, to be expressed, to be lived. It seems that if this tendency is thwarted, the energy directed towards life undergoes a process of decomposition and changes into energies directed towards destruction. In other words: the drive for life and the drive for destruction are not mutually independent factors, but are in a reverse interdependency. The more the drive for life is thwarted, the stronger is the drive towards destruction; the more life is realized, the less is the strength of destructiveness. Destructiveness is the outcome of unlived life."