The

story of a now-deceased 81-year-old man who spent about four decades

incarcerated without trial has rocked the nation.

The

story came to public attention after the Independent Commission of

Investigations (INDECOM) shared details from its quarterly report on Wednesday

(June 3).

The

damning report has sparked outrage with some calling it

“heartbreaking” and “gut-wrenching” particularly as they

saw photos of his condition prior to his death, covered with bedbugs,

known colloquially as ‘chink’.

According

to the report, 81-year-old Noel Chambers was incarcerated on February 4,

1980 and had been in lockup for about 40 years without trial until his death in

2019. He was initially charged with murder.

 The

report further highlighted that there was confusion over whether Chambers was

ever convicted as he was described as “unfit to plead”.

“The

Commissioner of Corrections in his report to INDECOM states that “Noel Chambers

was tried and convicted in the Home Circuit Court on February 4, 1980, for the

offense of murder. He was deemed unfit to plead and was held at the

Governor General’s Pleasure,” read the report.

“However,

in the Commission’s respectful opinion he could not have been unfit to plead

and convicted. Indeed, his commitment document by the Home Circuit Court

has the words ‘guilty of’ struck out and replaced with ‘unfit to plead’,”

added the report.

Even

more alarming is the deplorable conditions Chambers lived in while in prison

which was described in the report.

Not

to mention the near incredulous state Chambers was in prior to his death.

The

report reveals that at the time of Chambers’ death, he was covered with what

appeared to be vermin bites, live bedbugs (‘chink’), and showed signs of having

bed sores.

The

report further revealed that he ultimately died from acute pyelonephritis,

“a sudden and severe kidney infection”.

It

is these photos from the post-mortem that struck the greatest chord with

Jamaicans, some of whom called the images the worst they had ever seen.

The

report also disclosed that Chambers’ family along with a human rights

attorney made several attempts to have his case heard in court, but their

efforts proved futile.

“In

time, his family grew disheartened with the process,” added the

report.

INDECOM

has said that the death of  Noel Chambers has lead the

commission to initiate a wider enquiry into conditions under which persons

unfit to plead are being held at correctional institutions across the

country.