![]() ![]() ( 4) For those needing to be kept under conditions of maximum security, the prison had a dungeon where such criminals were held. That a Prison or Place for securing safely all offenders against the Law and Good Governt to be appointed and made in some convenient place in Fort James The Soldjers distinct and separate from the Freeplanters and that a carefull Marshall or Prison Keeper be appointed wth such moderate fees as in such cases are usuall.Īlthough there is little known about the design of this first prison, the records refer to prisoners serving there. ![]() Thomas Bolton also a free planter, to be the Clerk of the Peace. John Sich a free planter to be the island's first Sheriff and Mr. ![]() The first record of a prison being built on the island is in the Saint Helena Records for 1683 when the East India Company issued a set of instructions to the Governor, John Blackmore, to build a Court of Judicature in the disused Market Place near Fort James. The precipitous cliffs encircling the interior make Saint Helena an almost impenetrable fortress. There is no airport nor is there a breakwater where ships can easily dock. Geographically the island is ideally suited as a prison. Saint Helena's destiny as a prison island was created when the Portuguese Nobleman, Fernando Lopez became a voluntary exile there in 1515. The island was also used to provide prison accommodation for nearly 5,000 Boer prisoners of war. It is difficult to imagine, after reading stories like these, that Saint Helena was once used by Britain as a penitentiary for such renowned characters as the Emperor Napoleon, Prince Dinizulu and the Sultan of Zanzibar. ( 2) It is known however that he reached Brazil and upon landing, he appealed to the Dutch embassy, which then repatriated him to Holland, a free man. Others say that he escaped with the assistance of a friend who had arrived at the island on a yacht a few days before. (He apparently left an audiotape of himself snoring in his cell, and then set sail on a rough wooden boat, which it is rumoured that he'd paid an islander – whom he'd met on an extended exercise break – to make). ![]() There are several rumours surrounding his escape from the island, some say that Merk escaped using soap to make copies of prison keys, which guards reportedly left out while they went to the toilet. ( 1) The drugs were confiscated and the ship was later scuttled just off Lemon Valley. Perhaps the most daring and successful escape was made in 1994 by Dutch Captain and drug smuggler Willem Merk who had been imprisoned by the island authorities after they had discovered that his ship was carrying a huge quantity of illegal drugs. The situation was resolved when the authorities decided to release the prisoner earlier than his sentence allowed for good behaviour! Another St Helenian had broken out of prison twice during the period 1999 to 2001 whilst serving time for arson and had been reported as telling the prison wardens that he could get out of prison whenever he felt inclined to do so. This was not the first time that a prisoner had managed to escape from Her Majesty's Prison Saint Helena. The escaped prisoner remained at large for more than a week and was eventually recaptured after police intelligence revealed that he was hiding out in a garden in Jamestown not more than 200 metres from the prison. The St Helena Herald for 17th September 2004 carried the following article Įscaped prisoner still missingPaul Stroud, a prisoner sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for the importation of drugs, went missing last weekend. ![]()
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