Glenroy Sinclair,
Staff Reporter
ONE PRISONER is dead and another seriously injured, following the discovery yesterday of a second escape tunnel at the Tower Street Adult Correct-ional Centre, formerly the General Penitentiary (GP), downtown Kingston.
Prison authorities discovered the 100-foot long by three-foot wide tunnel on the H-North Block during routine checks.
"They started digging the tunnel from cell 35 on H-North Block up to the perimeter wall on Tower Street," said Deputy Superintendent Kanute Thom-pson, commanding officer for East Kingston. If the perimeter wall was not strong enough, the prisoners would have already dug their way out, he said.
On Wednesday, officials discovered the first tunnel under the B-North Block between cells one and eight. The authorities said they were unsure how long the inmates had been digging. According to reports, the tunnels were dug underneath the cells to allow each inmate to exit into the underground escape route.
Yesterday's discovery led to a bloody clash between rival inmates, with one group accusing another of leaking the information about the escape route. The dead man has been identified as Joseph "Shortman" Christie, of a Negus Close address in Kingston 11. The injured inmate, Orane Coburn of East Avenue, Linstead, St. Catherine, sustained multiple stab wounds to his neck and upper body.
A police constable, who was inside the prison at the time of the incident, said he heard a roar and saw inmates attacking each other. Others were crying for help, he said. Soldiers stationed at the maximum security facility intervened to end the brawl, said the policeman.
Although angry prisoners are still pointing fingers about who leaked the information, Superintendent Thompson said "we are not anticipating any upsurge of violence at the institution now because there are over 50 warders and more than 100 soldiers there, plus another 20 soldiers on reserve."
There may be more tunnels at the prison, he said, as the tools used to dig have not been found.
