Accused push back against prison shoe ban

TWENTY-THREE of the 25 accused in the ongoing Klansman Gang trial on Monday harnessed the power of the court to press prison officials to relax a recent blanket ban barring visitors from bringing footwear to inmates at Horizon Adult Remand Centre in St Andrew.

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS), in a post on its social media platform on Tuesday, September 15, had advised that bringing footwear for inmates at Horizon had been prohibited with immediate effect. It said this was in order to “safeguard institutional security, maintain safety, and preserve good order within the Horizon Adult Remand Centre (HARC)”.

The DCS said footwear for inmates would be provided through the department’s established procurement process. But the inmates, 23 of whom are housed at the facility, raised concerns last Thursday about the ban which, they said, impacts their ability to properly attire themselves to attend court proceedings for the matter which generally runs from Mondays to Thursdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.