EIGHTEEN non-violent offenders were released from Jamaican prisons and lock-ups to ring in the New Year with their families, thanks to Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica, who paid their fines recently.

Eleven of the inmates were from St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre; four from Fort Augusta; one from Tower Street; one from Constant Spring Police Station; one from Tamarind Farm; one from Mandeville Police Station and one from May Pen Police Station.

In other countries, Food For The Poor also released 102 other non-violent inmates, which consisted of seven in Guyana, 19 in Honduras and 76 in Haiti.

President and chief executive officer of Food for the Poor Robin Mahfood said it is the charity organisation’s tradition to release non-violent inmates twice a year, during the Easter and Christmas seasons.

“The Prison Ministry Programme is based on the scripture, ‘When was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you… Matthew 25:31-46.’ We do this because we’re following Jesus’ example in the Gospels. It is the right thing to do,” Mahfood said following the series of prison releases.

“The vast majority of the prisons in Latin America and the Caribbean are notoriously overcrowded for a wide variety of reasons. There are also health and hygiene concerns,” Mahfood added.

A 43-year-old inmate from St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre, who was charged $50,000 or three months in prison under a warrant of Distringas & Capias – which is issued to compel someone to do something, but usually for a person owing money based on a court judgment, or who fails to appear for a civil hearing, or for violation of bail bonds – said he is eternally grateful to FFP for getting him released.

In recalling the circumstances leading to his arrest, the inmate explained, “A close friend had a traffic- related offence in court and he asked me to bail him, which I did. As part of the bail, it was my duty to ensure that he attended all the court hearings. However, for the last hearing, he did not show up and so I was charged. It was the worst day of my life. I felt like a fish out of water because I had a family that was relying on me, four children and a wife. I couldn’t pay the fine because I had used it to bail the person I thought was a friend.”

After spending one month and three weeks in prison, he soon realised that the only thing he could do was pray for a miracle.

“I prayed day and night to God just asking him to work something out so I could leave this place because I couldn’t belive that at this stage of my life, this is where I ended up, in prison,” he said.

When he was told that God answered his prayers and FFP Jamaica was paying his outstanding fines, the inmate said, “Oh, God! I felt like a bird flying from a cage. I don’t even know how to explain it. I am so overwhelmed.”

Since the charity organisation started its prison ministry programme in 1998, it has assisted in freeing, training and reintroducing non-violent prisoners back in their communities as productive citizens.