Prison CEO Says 13-year-old Youth Is Now in the L.I.U. Program

According to Police Commissioner Chester Williams, the boy has been part of intervention programs before but that nothing seemed to have been effective in his life. News Five contacted Virgilio Murrillo, the C.E.O. of the Kolbe Foundation which manages the prison facility and the Wagner’s Youth Facility where the thirteen-year-old is being held. Murrillo told us via WhatsApp that because of the boy’s tender age, he was placed by himself for a couple weeks, whilst the administration gauges the temperament of the other youngsters in his presence. Murrillo said that today the boy is amongst the others and that the administration sees no danger with him there. He added that the youth is a part of the intervention programs being offered by the L.I.U and Nuri Mohammed. Murrillo also told us that the youth is not being treated differently from the rest of the youths in the facility. He informed us today (quote), “they are offered all the rights and privileges other prisoners enjoy. The only difference with them is their programming with the L.I.U and Brother Nuri, because the other prisoners who are convicted and remanded don’t participate in those intervention programs. We are certain he can live amongst the others. They are a little older, but still under the age of eighteen years. Suffice me to say that the youth will be very safe in this environment until he is removed. That, I will guarantee”, (end quote). Police Commissioner Williams also said he would try to get in touch with the youth’s mother to see what other help can be rendered.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“I have not spoken to her personally. Perhaps I should, and I will pledge so to do but I know that the mother is aware that her son is problematic. She’s quite aware of that. She has reached out to somebody for help and that person had reached out to me. And so I will try my best to see if I can meet her sometime this week and see what we can work out together to try and help the young man, because perhaps he does need help. So we’ll just see how we can do that. We have the lead interventionist, Brother Nuri going into the prison twice a week, and doing interventions and mentoring to these young men. I think it’s a very good way for us to be able to help him and others who are there to really and truly reflect on why they are there, and as well as to find ways and means as to why they would not want to get back there.”