“Crimes are planned in HM prison”- Allen Wheatley
Speaking candidly at the inaugural conference, which was held at the Eileen Parsons Auditorium, H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) yesterday afternoon, June 8, 2012, Wheatley revealed that such plans stem from inmates not being involved in programmes that would positively stimulate their minds.
“...and I am not talking about planning of crimes when you come out of prison. Because you have such idle, unconstructive time, you plan crimes [in prison]. You go to the visiting area, you execute these plans with individuals outside and if you are smart enough you will even get the proceeds from these particular situations. So ignoring that institution is one of the biggest mistakes we are making because when a person is in they are so angry that it increases the crime on the streets. So you are not really helping, you are making it a lot worse because you are not dealing with the situation properly,” he told the audience.
The Former Financial Secretary was convicted and sentenced to nine months behind bars in 2002 for allegedly misappropriating Government funds that was linked to a Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport project. However, he only served seven months for good behaviour.
Though his crime is considered a “white collared” one, Wheatley vividly remembered his first day in the prison system. According to Wheatley, after he was processed, about half the prison population was lined up all the way to his cell. They were clapping.
“It was not a clap of true welcome, it was a clap more of ridicule, so my initial process started out very weird in the sense that was not something I was expecting,” he confessed.
However, a few hours later inmates warmed up to him, Wheatley said, which too could have been credited to the “big man” at the time. “He was a friend of mine. He came and spoke to me and then everyone realised that I was someone to be left alone.”
After he was accepted, Wheatley was able to help inmates by teaching them Accounting and Typing, and added, “to be honest with you if there was not that acceptance the programme itself would not have worked.”
The former inmate is also urging authorities to have more programmes in place that deal with education and in-house work initiatives that can be associated with external work programmes “so when inmates enter society they can be gainfully employed.”
“There is nothing worse than putting a person completing significant years disassociated from society back on the streets without a job. When they don’t have a job, they have to survive. There is a saying when incarcerated survival is a must. You might know that, but it also goes on to say by any means necessary,” he added.
Stigma
Touching briefly on the stigma attached to an inmate, after he or she has been released, Wheatley admitted that it takes a lot of strength to deal with it.
“You can see it in the way a person watches you, even the way they interact. So you become cognizant of it and you are hearing it all,” he revealed. “And again if you don’t have a strong personality, it would frustrate you and that in some cases would lead one back into doing something that is not constructive.”
Therefore, social acceptance is crucial, he pointed out. “We all have a role in trying to help that individual settle back into society, and we need to understand that.”
Upon his release, Wheatley’s mother immediately organised a prayer service at the East End Methodist Church which was a huge gesture because it helped him to reconnect with the older generation.
At the conclusion of his story, the businessman and youth advocate noted that “you always live with it. You may not show it but you always live with it. Some of us live with it mentally and/or physically. For me, I had ailments/circulation problems that I will have to deal with it for the rest of my life.”
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