Crime
Family Concerned after Inmate badly beaten in prison
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, November 22, 2022 – Police are not commenting in the case of an inmate allegedly badly beaten earlier this month at the Department of Corrections, formerly Her Majesty’s Prison, which is in Grand Turk; they say there is no case with them, so there is no comment.
TCI Media is nonetheless reporting that an inmate of Her Majesty’s prison had to be rushed to hospital on November 11th, after being beaten bloody by other prisoners. The report was made by TCI Spotlight; no information on the incident was shared with the public by the police which continue to raise questions weeks after the incident reportedly happened.
The report informs that the victim of the mass beating was Andrew Parker, a 32-year-old inmate serving 25 years for rape, kidnapping and robbery. Parker was sentenced in December 2021 after escaping police custody at least twice.
Reports indicate that Parker used a phone, which is prohibited for inmates; he was conversing with someone outside the prison about the string of killings in Providenciales. That conversation was recorded, running for just under four minutes. Despite the speaker’s plea not to share the information from the conversation was shared and went viral in September. It prompted a search, resulting in the discovery of the illegal cellular phone.
Relatives told Spotlight that Parker was relieved of the phone and locked away in maximum security, purportedly for his own protection and as punishment for the breach. Those who allegedly busted him in the head and wounded his torso are also locked up in Maximum Security, the family questions the safety of this decision.
The 32-year-old inmate was returned on Friday, November 11th to the general population of the facility, where he was allegedly ganged by several inmates who beat him severely. By the time officers rushed into the cell block, Andrew Parker was already in need of medical care. He was seen by the onsite medical practitioner and then rushed to hospital.
It was reported to our newsroom, on the day in question, that prison officers brought in a young man with a stab would and serious head injuries at the Cockburn Town Medical Center. He was taken into emergency, at the time we had learned. That was shortly before 6 pm on November 11.
In reaching out to police to corroborate the reports, Magnetic Media was informed, “no report was made to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force regarding the incident mentioned, as such, we cannot comment.”
Spotlight newspaper cited its source as relatives of Mr. Parker.