And, as we told you at the top, another prisoner was killed today - but he wasn't an escapee; he was killed this morning at the prison during a riot - when two more prisoners were shot and a guard injured.
Cherisse Halsall was outside the prison when it was happening - and here's her report on this morning uprising at Tango 7:
We're here at the Belize Central Prison where there's an ongoing riot. And just moments ago there was scrambling as prison C.E.O. Virgilio Murillo ran in that direction. This is after the largest breakout that the prison has ever seen and today it remains to be seen if Murillo will be able to control the remainder of the inmates locked up inside this prison. 00:29
Virgilio Murillo, C.E.O. Kolbe Foundation
"This morning we had some ruckus because obviously some of them are taking locks down hard. But we certainly asserted ourselves and in no uncertain terms let them know that we are going to be in charge here, not them."
"We're hearing right now, picking up information that it may be related to the lockdown as a result of COVID. I understand that this morning they barricaded the building with the chairs and benches that they have in there and then they just began fighting with the prison officers that were in that building one of them sustained what the doctor refers to as multiple head traumas and suspected a fractured nose so he was sent to KHMH for further evaluation. But certainly, we got a hold of it and we have it under control and the police came here to show support as well."
And while Murillo stuck to ruckus as opposed to riot, he and his team were forced to use gunfire with live rounds to wrestle the situation back under their control.
Cherisse Halsall:
"Sir, we heard shots fired during the quelling of whatever that was, what types of shots were those, those were from pistols. Rubber bullets?"
Virgilio Murillo
"No, no, live ammunition, pistols. One prisoner got shot in his ankle and the other got shot in his buttocks I believe but not life-threatening wounds at all."
But it seems they were, and this afternoon reports surfaced that inmate Stephan Jenkins, a man who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter back in October of 2019, died while undergoing treatment at the KHMH.
And as unfortunate as his death may be for his loved ones Murillo says that the force used by his guards was and remains necessary.
Virgilio Murillo
"The way they were going on, violent because if you see the guard you would get the understanding of how vicious they were. They were literally out to kill."
"These guys at Administrative segregation these set of people who were sanctioned for breaking prison rules for being violent and those kinds of things. It's only a few of them. It's less than 100 and I cannot have them hold the prison for ransom, I have a population of less than 1,200 right now how do you reckon with having less than 100 prisoners try to assert themselves and run the prison, we need to maintain order and discipline that is what prisons are all about."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Mr. Murillo when we spoke on Friday I did ask you if you foresaw any tension or any riots resulting from your additional lockdown, in hindsight, do you feel that that was a mistake?"
Virgilio Murillo
"No, I will stick with that we weren't getting that kind of intelligence that we would have gotten this backlash, but you need to understand, the deprivation of anybody's liberty is very afflictive and it can go any direction. The people who are trying to kick up a storm if you look at their history, their conduct in prison - these are people who keep giving the prison trouble. They are either violent, they are disruptive, they are assaultive and we can't have that in prison. I'm sorry, they are here to be discipline and we are going to do what we have to do to show them that we are in charge. We will be in charge at the end of the day and if I need to call the commissioner and tell him to send additional man power then so I will do, but they will not take over the prison that much I can tell you."
The 21-day lockdown of The Belize Central Prison is set to continue and whether or not we've heard the last of the riots one thing's for sure C.E.O Murillo has the full support from the Commissioner.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"The Prisoners should not come to prison and dictate what should occur with them in terms of whether their lockdown or allowed to be walking the compound, that's why it's called a prison so at the end of the day we are going to lend the prison whatever assistance we can to ensure that the objectives of the lockdown is achieved, we all understand by now the gravity of the coronavirus and it is surely going to be devastating if it is allowed to spread within the prison, So if there's a need for the prison to be lockdown for 21 days, it should be locked down forever not for 21 days, then so shall it be and I'm saying to Mr. Murillo right here whatever assistance he needs from the police to ensure that it is done, we are stretched extremely thin because of covid but this is another Covid situation where we need to try and assist, and so we are going to do our part as well."
Regarding 27 year old Stephan Jenkins who died today, he was serving a 17 year sentence for the lesser charge of manslaughter of fifty-four-year old Dennis Williams - who was killed in a robbery at his workplace, Three Star Chicken.
