There was public outrage this week when Barry Robinson, 30, a Belize City man on parole, convicted of raping an aspiring female politician over ten years ago, was released on bail after being accused of crimes against at least two other women.
There was no word of it in any of the police press releases sent to us this week, and police press officer, Clement Palacio, who said he only just returned from leave, told us when we asked for documentation that he could not find the report in his releases, either.
However, the media got wind of the matter on Tuesday, when Robinson was taken to the Belize City Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Sharon Fraser and released on $4,000 bail after taking the stand to state that he was not guilty of the robbery for which he was being charged.
Robinson currently stands accused of robbing Bernadine Grinage, while she was walking on Eyre Street in Belize City. Multiple media reports say that on Monday night, a robber mauled Grinage in her head and wrestled her purse from her, which contained personal items, including her cell phone, money, jewelry, and credit cards, valued at nearly $1,800.
The incident later led to Robinson’s parole being revoked—he had been denied parole 6 times before he was released last November, said Mel Auil, Chief Executive Officer of Kolbe Foundation, which manages the prison. Auil told Amandala that Robinson was sent back to prison on Wednesday, October 7.
The CEO called the media this morning, Thursday, October 8, for briefings in response to recent comments in the media expressing outrage over Robinson’s early release.
One woman who has gone on record is the woman Robinson was convicted of raping back in April 1998: On Wednesday night, October 7, 2009, Marisa Quan, who had made the bold step of coming forward to speak against the crime committed against her – something rape victims rarely do, complained in an interview with Channel 7 News that she was surprised to learn that Robinson was out of prison, that he had hurt other women and was, on top of that, released by a magistrate on bail.
Quan was viciously attacked and raped as she was making her foray into national electoral politics, as United Democratic Party standard bearer for Freetown. Barry Robinson, born November 1978, was convicted of the crime.
Robinson had been convicted and sentenced to serve two 15-year terms concurrently. Getting concurrent sentences means he was to serve only 15 years, as opposed to 30 years.
Auil said that under Chapter 139 of the Laws of Belize (the Prison Act), there are provisions for parole: “All inmates who meet the criteria are eligible after serving 33% of time.”
“He [Robinson] served 10 years and 7 months of his time,” said Auil, indicating that Robinson had long passed the 33% threshold, which is one of the requirements for being considered for parole.
“There is a parole board, which the inmate can apply to and they review the entire history of the inmate in the prison – of his conduct, his behavior, his rehabilitative efforts, in terms of the programs he has done, the work he has done in the prison. So they reviewed all of that before he was granted parole in November of last year,” explained Auil.
Parole can be revoked for the simplest of infractions, the CEO added.
As for Robinson, who became the subject of debate this week, “he has had several run-ins with the law [since], and we said it is time to revoke.”
When Robinson was accused of participating in a burglary back in December 2008, his parole was not revoked, however. Auil claimed the reason was “because [the] case was struck out.”
Kimana Davis, a primary school teacher, told Amandala today, when we asked her about the case, that she had rented the first floor of a house at 164 East Collet Canal in Belize City and she had been “cleaned out” in the burglary. The upstairs flat was also burglarized, she said.
According to Davis, she had not been getting notices that the court case was being called, and after a while, she got frustrated with the case and decided to “leave things in the hands of God.” After the burglary, she moved from the premises.
As for Quan’s concerns, Auil said that she did write to Kolbe when Robinson’s release was being considered by the parole board, strongly objecting to Robinson’s early release from prison.
Robinson must now serve out the remaining time he had left behind bars, Auil indicated.
There is a team of people who decide whether an inmate gets parole. The Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of National Security, Allan Whylie, chairs the parole board. There are 3 board members from Kolbe: CEO Mel Auil, the director of the parole unit – Marniette Fox Westby, and the deputy CEO – Virgilio Murillo; 1 person from the judiciary – a magistrate, a police officer, a psychiatrist; and one person from the Human Development Ministry. The second space for the Ministry of National Security is vacant.
Auil told us that except for persons convicted of murder – who cannot apply for parole – a prisoner who has served out 33% of his time (that is, a third) can apply for early release through the parole unit.
“That does not mean it gets to board,” he explained.
The parole unit looks to see what programs the inmate has done and his work in the prison; whether he is guilty of any infractions; and his behavior in the prison yard.
“We get reports from victims or survivors of victims… We get reports from family members to see if they would support them on release, from potential employers,” he added, saying that the law stipulates that “good conduct and industry” should be considered in granting parole.
Robinson’s request for parole was denied 6 times, said Auil, before he was actually released.
Marisa was consulted; she wrote a letter to the board when Robinson applied in 2008, and she disagreed with the notion of giving him early parole, he furthermore explained.
Robinson was released based on his record while incarcerated, Auil said.
The CEO reports that going back to 2003/2004, 232 inmates had been released on parole. There are 33 parole officers who are tasked to monitor their behavior after they are released from prison, and they receive counseling as a part of their aftercare.
“An average of 20 to 30 people go up for parole every month; 70 to 80% will not make it,” said Auil. [Emphasis ours.]
Parolees who get in trouble with the law are taken back to prison to serve out the rest of their time, said Auil. “Some make it good; some struggle in these difficult economic times,” he added.
One parolee, Billy Sanchez, was killed in August on Central American Boulevard, and there are several others like Sanchez, said Auil, who end up with death threats on their heads.
The allegations against Robinson of burglary and robbery have raised some serious questions, and public skepticism, as to whether prison reformation is more of a myth than a reality.
When we asked Auil about the return rate of people released on parole, he told us that parole is revoked in less than 30% of cases.
“Sometimes, they are brought back to do rehabilitation programs. Some are feeling extreme pressure and the urge to go back to addictions, to drugs,” he added.
According to the CEO, many of the inmates have problems with drug and alcohol addiction, and sometimes commit robberies and burglaries to feed their addiction.
“If we had proper rehabilitation centers outside, the population would not be as high behind the prison. We know they don’t belong in jail,” said Auil.
He reports the current prison population at 1,500. Internationally, Belize is reported to have the highest incarceration rate in Central America, and one of the highest in the Caribbean, and its incarceration rate ranks among the top ten countries in the world.
(KREM News editor, Marisol Amaya, also contributed information to this report.)