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Reunited – Robinsons find relative lost in prison system for 17 years

Published:Saturday | August 17, 2019 | 12:05 AMTamara Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Robert Robinson
Robert Robinson

Berry Hill, Manchester:

In 2002 when Robert Robinson was arrested for simple larceny, he had no idea that he would be forgotten in the prison system for 17 years, with no certainty that he would ever see the light of day and under a name his relatives did not know.

According to Robinson’s sister, Cassandra Robinson-Brown, her brother was in the prison system under the name Basil Robinson and each time she would go to visit him, making requests for Robert, she was told no one was there by that name.

Robinson, was arrested for stealing yams from a relative’s farm, an offence that, if convicted, could see him spending a total of three years in prison.

However, according to a court representative, having been diagnosed with schizophrenia – a mental disorder characterised by abnormal behaviour – strange speech, and a decreased ability to understand reality, Robinson was placed at the psychiatric wing of the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre until he was fit to plead.

Months turned into years. Seventeen years to be exact, as in 2005 when Robinson reappeared for a second time in court, his matter was adjourned without a date.

“His first court date was in 2002; he remained in custody until his second court date, which was 2005. In 2005, his matter was adjourned without a date, but what should have been happening was a series of follow-ups with a probation officer and the courts to determine if his condition was improving, and if he was fit to plead. But that didn’t happen. He should have been kept on the list, though: that’s how it works, but somehow he just fell through the cracks in the system,” said a courts officer, who requested anonymity.

Robinson-Brown said she went to the St Catherine facility on several occasions, but each time she made an inquiry for Robert Robinson, otherwise known as Dale, she would hear that no one was at the facility under that name.

“It is since they release him (Wednesday, August 7, 2019) that we find out he was under the name Basil Robinson. I don’t know where they got that name from. I still can’t believe my brother was in that place for 17 years.”

She said the family could not afford legal representation and gave up after a few years of trying to locate his whereabouts.

“My brother always had pretty teeth, and now to see him, with very few solid teeth in his mouth: he has bruises all over. I broke down when I saw him. I am doing all I can now to see how best I can get him up to par. I’m not sure if the medication they were giving him in the prison really wasn’t doing more harm than good, but my aim is to get him to up to his best self.”

She continued, “We talk and I asked him about his ordeal at the facility. I see bruises all over his face and body, and I know even though I will probably have to get him into a facility, it is best I help build him up first because I don’t want anybody to mistreat him.”

Brown-Robinson said there are moments when she questions why her shy brother had to go through this, when all he was doing was trying to get something to eat.

“You know my brother was on him own and doing him thing. He was a good bodywork man and some things happen to him and he just gave up on life. He used to do his little farming, or sometimes him go dig a piece a yam from him relative farm. This time around him take off some pieces off yam head fi go cook. The man apparently was going to sell it, and that is where the problem was. But you can tell a thief different from a hungry man.

“But all of this is saying we need to find out we can get justice for our brother. I can just imagine how many others have fallen through the system like him. I am just leaving things in God’s hands now and praying for the best,” she ended.

familyandreligion@gleanerjm.com