Summary of Haiti's prison from hell | Unreported World

00:00:00 - 00:20:00

The video investigates the conditions in Haiti's prison system, where inmates are often crammed together in unsanitary conditions and prone to disease. The two men featured in the video, who were accused of a murder they did not commit, have been imprisoned for five years. With the help of a lawyer, they are hoping to prove their innocence and get released.

• 00:00:00 Inside Haiti's largest penitentiary, Unreported World filmmaker, Tom Burghardt, has unprecedented access to one of the most overcrowded prisons in the world. The prison holds nearly four thousand inmates, among them are some of Haiti's most violent convicted murderers, rapists, and kidnappers. Florence le, the Protector of Citizens, spends much of her time at the penitentiary because she suspects many of these men shouldn't even be in prison. The prisoners have named this block the Titanic, and the first thing that hits you is the smell, sweat, feces, urine, and barrage of noise.
• 00:05:00 Despite the law stating that anyone arrested should be brought before a judge within 48 hours, in reality this rarely happens. The video shows Durant visiting the prison where he meets a judge who tells him that the backlog of cases is due to the judges' annual holiday, lack of staff, and the illiteracy of many Haitians.
• 00:10:00 The video investigates the conditions in Haiti's prison system, where inmates are often crammed together in unsanitary conditions and prone to disease. The two men featured in the video, who were accused of a murder they did not commit, have been imprisoned for five years. With the help of a lawyer, they are hoping to prove their innocence and get released.
• 00:15:00 In Haiti, prisoners are often afraid of dying before seeing a judge, and there are allegations of corruption in the justice system. Paul Pannell was found guilty on a puzzle for a crime he claims he didn't commit, and his release form is nowhere to be found. Poole claims he's waiting for his release form to be handed over, but the court clerk should have done this after his trial last year. Florence offers to help me track down the paperwork, but as I leave the prison, I run into more problems. I've just left the prison and was on my way to the courthouse, but as you can see, the roads are blocked off. There are burning tires and a protest going on. I even heard gunshots a few minutes ago. In addition, there's been infighting in the Justice Department and the city's chief prosecutor has been transferred. So, any of the men in there who are hoping to get their cases heard today, it's just not going to happen. I want to put my findings to the Minister of Justice, but it seems like the situation is hopeless. Haiti's interim government has been in place since February, and the presidential elections are just a couple of weeks away. When you've
• 00:20:00 In this video, reporter Jack Fournier visits the National Penitentiary in Haiti to see how many prisoners are still awaiting trial despite being charged with a crime they may not have committed. Although the prison is on lockdown due to Hurricane Matthew, Jack's clients Herve and Lexan nor are yet to be released. There is a dispute about their paperwork, and Paul's only hope is to have another trial.