RIGHTS group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) has lauded the State’s formation of three working groups to look into the issues facing the island’s lock-ups and make recommendations for corrective measures.

“Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) wishes to congratulate the ministers of justice and national security on taking some steps to correct the systemic problems plaguing police lock-ups and correctional and remand facilities,” the group said in a release following the announcement.

Each of the groups will be headed by a governmental entity. The three are tasked with specific responsibilities and are expected to present draft reports and recommendations by month’s end.

The announcement last week of the groups’ formation followed the outcry — both locally and internationally — in the wake of the beating death of 31-year-old Mario Deane in a police lock-up in St James.

Dean was badly beaten, allegedly by inmates, and later died at hospital after he was arrested on August 3, 2014 for being in possession of a single marijuana cigarette.

Two civilians, Adrian Morgan, 25, and Marvin Orr, 35, have been charged with murder in relation to the killing. Six police officers, who were on duty at the Barnett Street Police Station at the time, were suspended as the outcry grew.

Deane’s family members have since retained the services of an attorney and are expected to take legal action against the State.

So far, two United States-based attorneys have been attracted to the case. Additionally, a renowned United States pathologist has participated in the post mortem on Deane’s battered body.

Deane is not the only civilian death in police lock-up that has evoked public outrage. A few notable cases over the decades include that of Agana Barrett, Ian Forbes, Vassell Brown and Kamoza Clarke.

“It is an incontestable fact that Jamaica’s general detention practices breach Jamaica’s own Constitution and Jamaica’s laws, including the Bail Act and the Constabulary Force Act, as well as international human rights standards,” said JFJ.

“This Government’s current study of the detention issue is a signal step, which can be a turning point in how persons in detention are treated. It could eventually help us as a nation to correct some of the systemic injustices meted out by a detention system in need of serious reform,” the group added.