2023News

Miriam Germán: Overcrowded prisons is greatest challenge

Attorney General Miriam German said in presenting her rendition of accounts for 2022 that overpopulation in Dominican prisons is the department’s biggest challenge. She said that there is a long way to go to achieve the dignity of the prisoners.

“What I can assure is that, after we unified both systems, the inter-institutional coordination required to improve the conditions of those serving sentences has become much more fluid and constant. As long as we exercise the system’s leadership, we will spare no effort to humanize the serving of sentences,” said the prosecutor.

The Attorney General has yet to clarify what the government will be doing with the Nueva Victoria jail that has been submerged in accusations of corruption when built when Jean Alain Rodriguez was attorney general during the Medina administration. The jail cost more than RD$4 billion and was built to replace the overpopulated Victoria Jail. Almost three years into the Abinader administration, the new jail has not been habilitated.

During her accountability rendition, the Attorney General backed the bill proposal that would create the Ministry of Justice. She says this will enable to separate the criminal prosecution efforts from the government policies for crime prevention and safety.

Miriam German stated: “It is not an easy task to dismantle structures that have remained for decades and have shaped our practice, but the new path that we must now travel will be one that will allow us to optimally face the challenges of conflict resolution and crime prosecution, in addition to strengthening the autonomy and independence recognized by the constitution and the organic law.” She also spoke about the importance of the law for the administration of seized, kidnapped, abandoned, confiscated and forfeited assets.

Read more in Spanish:
N Digital
Diario Libre

8 March 2023