bahamasdepartmentofcorrections

Serial Sex Offender Sidney Cooper is set to be released from the Bahamas Department of Corrections on Friday after a six-year sentence.

The 47-year-old man was convicted of 15 sex crimes dating back to the year 2000.

In 2021, he appealed a sentence but lost his bid to quash his 6-year sentence arguing that the maximum penalty should have been 3 years.

Magistrate Samuel McKinney refuted his claims, stating that a provision in the law allows the doubling of a sentence for recidivism.

What is known about Sidney Cooper

It is believed he sexually assaulted 23 women in almost two decades

In 2019, he sexually assaulted a teen girl in the downtown area.

He groped a 9-year-old girl at a public pump in 2016

He groped a policewoman while on trial in 2016.

While on trial, Cooper groped a 2nd woman officer in court in 2021.

Experts have diagnosed him with frotteurism — he achieves sexual stimulation or orgasm by touching and rubbing against a person without consent

Cooper was to receive special treatment while imprisoned.

What Sidney Cooper said before his release from prison

Minister of National Security warned that Cooper could re-offend stating that when he spoke with Cooper he said that he is aroused by women who dress in shorts, smile with him, whose hips move while they walk, and “lick” their lips.

Copper said he has a “spirit in him since he was a child and does not believe that the spirit should bow.”

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Cuban migrants housed at the Bahamas Department of Corrections have stopped eating.

After one week at the facility, 152 migrants are demanding to be confined elsewhere, routinely at the Bahamas Department of Corrections.

Hurls of insults in Spanish are echoed down the hall as they beat the prison gates and throw their clothing out of the cells into the corridors.

Officers familiar with the situation said the group should not have been placed at the facility and is protesting to get the attention of officials.

It is reported prison officials have been trying to get immigration officials to visit the group but as of Thursday afternoon, no one from the Department had arrived.

Of the group, six men are confined to a cell and most are reported to be former marines from the communist island nation where they escaped economic and political woes, worsened by tightened U.S. sanctions and negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic— food shortages and inflation.

Prison officers fear the group may use its tactical skills on guards so attempts were made to keep the men in their cells.

A father and three adult sons are reported to be among the group.

Some have reportedly collapsed after refusing the food offered food by prison staff.

A man in the group translates their demands from Spanish to English.

In recent weeks, the Bahamas has seen a significant influx of Cuban migrants.

Sam Bankman Fried, former FTX CEO was sent back to prison today after some apparent confusion at his court hearing. It was expected that he would appear in the Bahamas court today to be extradited to the United States. However, when he arrived, no one seemed to know that he was coming.

The Daily Mail reported that the 30-year-old tapped his foot nervously and clenched and unclenched his hands before the judge arrived.

After the judge’s arrival, his lawyer Jeron Roberts told the court, “I did not request him to be here this morning.”

It is reported that Prosecutor Frankly Williams seemed surprised too, stating that the government of the Bahamas neither the government of the United States knew that Bankman-Fried would appear before a judge today.

“We are here for a certain purpose,” he said, then asked if Bankman-Fried can “tell us why he is here.”

The court was adjourned for 45 minutes for Roberts to speak with Bankman-Fried on the sidelines.

After the adjournment, Bankman-Fried was sent back to the Bahamas Department of Corrections, and no final decision was made regarding his extradition.

Sources familiar with the matter said over the weekend, that the fallen crypto genius would appear in court on Monday to willfully return to the US after a short stint at the correctional facility.

His extradition to the US means he could be sentenced to an estimated 115 years in prison. US prosecutors accused him of “one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.”

Bankman-Fried was initially expected to return to court for a bail hearing on January 7 and an extradition hearing on February 8.

Photo credit: Reuters

Four days since his recapture, escaped inmate Winston Walker is now in maximum security, under 24-hour watch at the Bahamas Department of Corrections.

Walker who was on remand, escaped the facility on Wednesday, and after a manhunt for the 30-year-old Jamaican national, he was found on a property in the Sea Breeze area.

Walker, accused of attempted murder, armed robbery and attempted armed robbery, is now on lockdown for 24 hours,  each day of the week, to prevent another escape.

A prison officer who did not wish to be identified said Walker’s escape came after four weeks of intense training in inmate escape prevention.

But Walker escaped nonetheless when he was permitted to go to the Medical Department during which, a fight escalated in the upstairs area of the facility. Walker used the distraction to escape, jumping over a wall at the back of the prison.

According to reports, other inmates watching did not alert authorities, but only shouted, “Freedom, freedom, freedom.”

Walker escaped Wednesday afternoon and was captured at 1 am on Thursday when officers from Operation Ceasefire, responded to a call about ”a prowler” on a property in the area.

Authorities at the prison have since placed locks on the back gate of the facility as an added measure to prevent escapes.

Winston Walker, the man who escaped the Bahamas Department of Corrections on Wednesday was captured early Thursday morning without incident.

The Jamaican national was spotted walking in the early morning hours in the Sea Breeze area, which is not far from the facility, after residents saw a “prowler” on a property.

Officers of Operation Ceasefire responded and arrested the 30-year-old escapee after 1 am.

Walker, accused of attempted murder, armed robbery and attempted armed robbery, escaped the remand unit of the facility, causing alarm.

Officials still have not revealed how Walker escaped the prison.

A Jamaican prisoner, accused of attempted murder, armed robbery and attempted armed robbery, escaped the Bahamas Department of Corrections on Wednesday, causing alarm.

Officials have not revealed how Winston Walker escaped the prison, but National Security Minister Wayne Munroe only confirmed the escape.

The 30-year-old is believed to have been on remand when he ran away. Police are now combing the area of Fox Hill for the dangerous escapee.

Walker is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, of slim build, with black hair, dark brown eyes and fair complexion.

When he escaped the prison compound, he was wearing a long sleeve red shirt and gray pants. Officials do not know if he has a change of clothes.

A resident of the area near the prison heard the alarm turned on when Walker escaped the compound earlier in the day, but the public was not made aware until later on Wednesday afternoon.

Walker’s last known address is #34 Rupert Dean Lane, Big Pond.

An investigation has begun into his escape from the housing unit of the prison and may prompt major adjustments in the correctional system.

If you see Walker or know of his whereabouts, you are asked to call the police at 911 or CDU at 502-9991.

Mikhail Miller was diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis due to the intake of contaminated drugs.

His mother Rose Miller struggled with him and tried to admit him to the country’s medical institute for the mentally ill, Sandilands Rehabilitation Center. So she sought the assistance of police officers.

Rose was told that she needed a reason for 29-year-old Mikhail to be picked up by officers and sent to Sandilands.

Rose then got a warrant for his arrest producing evidence that he stole shoes from his brother which he was told by a judge to refund to his brother.

Since he did not make payments, Rose asked that Mikhail be placed before the courts again.

“But they said that they didn’t see the warrant into the system and so I said I need help to get him off the street and so they said ‘well, did he steal (anything from you)’ and I said yes he take my tablet (and) my phone and they said that will be a reason to get him off the street.”

Rose asked that he be sent to Sandilands Rehabilitation Center but he was remanded at the Bahamas Department of Corrections.

What happened?

Mikhail was found dead in his cell on Monday morning. Pathologist Dr. Karen Sands is still doing an investigation to determine the cause of death but reports suggested he was found with injuries, which could have been caused by natural or unnatural causes.

Rose believes Mikhail was ganged in a cell and placed in a quarantined cell where he died. But official reports have not determined this.

Was an officer on guard?

It is not known if a prisoner officer saw what transpired, if anything did, but the prison remains overcrowded, which National Minister Wayne Munroe says makes it harder for officers to monitor each individual.

The prison also houses patients from the Sandilands Rehabilitation Center, which has a moratorium on new admittances due to COVID-19.

A prison officer who wanted to remain anonymous told CSJ Report that the cell holding the mentally ill at the facility is overwhelming for officers since many of the patients are without medication and as a result are acting erratically.

SRC seemed to have forgotten these patients as some are defecating on the floors of the prison.

A 25-year-old woman faced the court today and pleaded guilty to posing as a lawyer to smuggle drugs into the Bahamas Department of Corrections.

Warnika Russell of Zion Boulevard appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with two counts of evading the requirements of the law by having and uttering a forged document and two counts of possession of Indian Hemp with the intention to supply.

Russell was sentenced to 1 year and three months in prison.

What happened?

• Russell presented the Bar Association identification to guards, in the name of a professional lawyer, on Friday.
• Russell was visiting her boyfriend, Stephen Greene who is serving a 15-year sentence for armed robbery.
• Guards became suspicious and called the police when they realized the illegitimacy of the identification.
• It was discovered Russell had visited the prison eleven other times using the ID of a lawyer to gain access to the prison and deliver contraband items like drugs and cellphones.
• Police found 2.6 pounds of drugs on Russell attached to her abdomen.
• Russell said she was promised three-thousand dollars to deliver the drugs to Greene.

Featured Image: EWN

Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said nearly 60 prisoners could be released early from the Bahamas Department of Corrections as COVID-19 cases climb exponentially in New Providence.

“To date, the Committee has recommended for approval, by the Governor-General, the release of 57 persons and others are currently being reviewed and considered for the same,” he said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Health Organisation, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have jointly encouraged institutions of detention around the globe to consider the release of inmates, as COVID-19 undermines hygiene, health and safety due to social distancing limitations.

Why it matters

The Bahamas Department of Corrections has an inmate population of 1,489, with many crammed in small spaces, sharing cells, showers and toilet spaces, making them susceptible to the virus.

The cramped spaces make it impossible to social distance, poor hygiene exists and like in many prisons, hand sanitizers are not permitted as they can be used to brew alcoholic drinks.

This is a big move. Who will be released?

The Prerogative Board of Mercy Committee has begun reviewing the files of inmates to determine who would be considered high-risk for contracting the virus.

The board is considering the following people for release:

• the elderly
• people with comorbidity
• people who have completed more than half of their sentences with good behavior
• people sentenced for minor, non-violent offenses that don’t compromise public safety

The virus may be rising within the prison. Reported COVID-19 prison statistics

There are two confirmed positive cases of the virus which represent 0.1 percent of the total inmate population.

• The first case was recorded in August, five months after the first case was recorded in the Bahamas. The inmate contracted the virus while receiving medical care for an unrelated illness outside of the prison.
• The second reported case is a  male inmate who tested positive on September 23rd.

The body of a man found in the passenger seat of a car on Goodman’s Bay this morning is a prison officer at the Bahamas Department of Corrections.

CSJ Report can confirm that Sergeant Gregory Daxon was found dead on Tuesday around 10 am in a vehicle in the parking lot of the beach.

Police did not reveal the man’s identity to reporters, but sources identified the victim as Daxon, who is also a preacher.

Police Spokesperson Audley Peters said, “Police responded and on their arrival, they discovered in a gray vehicle, a male’s body crouched under the passenger seat. An examination of this body was conducted. There were no injuries found to the body and that’s all the information that we have.”

Prison Commissioner Charles Murphy also visited the scene.

Peters said, “There’s information within the vehicle that there’s a possibility that this individual might be a prison officer and so that’s why his presence (Murphy) was here this morning to confirm. But at this moment, we’re not confirming or denying whether that individual (was a prisoner officer).”

A coworker described Daxon as a humble and kindhearted person. The coworker who chose to remain anonymous said Daxon goes to the beach to pray.

Police said foul play is not suspected at this time.

Featured Photo credit: The Tribune