Superintendant of the Dominica State Prison Algernon Charter says he has his suspicions as to why 36-year-old Steven Alphonse escaped from the prison last week. However, Charter was quick to add that he is not willing to discuss those suspicions with the public.
“I have my suspicions why he left, but I will not discuss it in the public. I would really love to see him come back to the prison to discuss it with him. I think it’s a whole psychological problem and it has to be dealt with at that level … It’s only when he would be re-captured and I would interview him I will know. I cannot say what caused him to escape,” Charter said.
In an exclusive interview with Dominica News Online, the prison superintendent said he does not believe that Alphonse, who has escaped from the prison on three occasions, has an accomplice within the prison system. He told DNO that prison officers would have taken measures to prevent his escape, if they had any prior knowledge of his plans.
On January 27 prisoners were assigned to extract coal from a coal pit between 8:30 a.m. to 5:40 p.m., with time off for lunch. Prison officials noticed that Alphonse was missing when there was a change of shift and a head count was conducted.
“He was at work and he escaped at a particular time. He was on the prison compound working [with other prisoners] and he made good his escape, hold the fence and went about his business,” Charter explained.
Although other prisoners were interviewed about the escape, there was little expection that any valuable information would be gleaned from the interviews. “What would they give you? They would give you all sorts of things. You cannot depend on what they say,” Charter added.
According to him, they are working to improve security measures at the State’s Prison. However, he declined to say what those measures would entail.
Since the incident, the public has expressed concern about the level of security at the State Prison located at Stockfarm. When asked how many prison officers work per shift, Charter responded that this is a security matter which he could not discuss in public.
In a previous escape, Alphonse went off to Guadeloupe where he resided before being deported to Dominica.
“Even though is for the first time, it would be a concern. Any escape that happens in the institution is a concern for me; it has to be a concern because I have to keep the public safe by keeping those prisoners in safe custody. So if any prisoner escapes from prison it has to be our concern, it has to be,” the prison superintendant noted.
Alphonse was initially convicted in 1993 for viciously murdering a young woman. He was sentenced to death, but later that was commuted to life imprisonment.
“By some edict of the Privy Council it was sent back to the High Court and he was given 40 years imprisonment,” according to Charter.
Charter recommends having prisoners, particularly repeat escapees, speak to a psychologist or counselor who can find out what is bothering them. He however does not support the idea that an offender should be confined all the time.
“You don’t lockup a man all the time. Prison is about giving people opportunities. Even if the man has escaped three times, you don’t. I’m not saying that you’re going to let him go to work again.
I am very concerned that the man has escaped. It was not done malicious on our part that he has escaped. I would really urge if he reads or he hears anything now from us, if he would return to the prison it would be to his benefit in every aspect… and continue his sentence and let us help him to help himself to be a better citizen that when he will eventually leave the prison he will be a better citizen. We can only help him if he will only allow us to help him help himself,” Charter stated.
If Alphonse is re-captured, he may face an additional sentence for his offence. According to Charter, that sentence may be imposed to run consecutively or concurrently. Alphonse was given additional sentencing for his former escapes.
Police Public Relations Officer Inspector Claude Weekes has revealed that he has received reports that Alphonse was seen in the northern part of the island.
Edona Jno Baptiste – News Coordinator/Reporter
If I had been sentenced to stocky for 40 years , I’d do my damn hardest to flee the country asap!! I’d drown myself trying to swim away if I had to…
hello,
In 2002, on a hiking trail in the Guadeloupe, my friend and me were attacked by 3 individuals armed who beat us, bound to steal us our bank cards and our codes. We saw the death of close bus the leader Steve Alphonse, was very aggressive, a such deer. A few months later, after having made other aggressions, Steve Alphonse made captured itself like Denny Shillingford, in Guadeloupe and to have condammés at 10 years in 2005. Steve Alphonse, who was done called Elvis Doduis, was given to the authorities Dominican in 2005 to continue his perpetuity in prison. We were very shocked by this aggression where we believed to die under the weapons, gun and machete. We had multiple wounds but the worst was the psychological traumatism. Into sailing on Internet, I note that Steve Alphonse is again on the run since 2010. I cannot prevent myself from thinking of his new victims. it, perhaps did it is very strong to hide have a suspicion of humanity and returned to see the child whom it had with a gaudeloupéenne in the years 2000? I hope sincerely that it be taken again and locked up because I believe it irremediable in spite of the statements of the person in charge for the prison of Reed. It is very dangerous.
So as he could not kill his sister and mom the jumbie send him and kill the wicked lady child!
See what jealousy can cause!!!!
DOOMINICA BEHAVE
DOMINCA IS SO GOOD AND GREAT
bondiee look joke wiiiiiiiiiii…………….papa dominica prison is like a hottel mannnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!awa wi this article is like the dumbest thing i ever readdd…………
get into the 20 th century………..installl on security camerasssssssssss plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……
what rubbish i hearing there nah. Prison is a place where you lock up people and put them behind bars. i saw a comment ” you dont lock up people all the time” this is NONSENCE, RUBBISH,STUPIDNESS. Maybe , he is the one who let the guy go free.
Dominicans have to be prisoners in their own houses now because a prisoner has escaped????? stupesssss
Woieee Jesus!!! Look now I hear ppl see him in d Vieille Case area. We NEED d police to do their jobs and do it well!!!!
..I guess he wasnt getting enough sunshine being locked up…………… .. prison look like the Holiday Inn in New York City. .. Let me see Steven—- its all about Smith and Wesson my son!
WHAT THE HE……………….. u must be kidding me. Dude the guy is a murderer and your words “i suspect”get your butt out there and get the dimwit back to where he belong.
GIVE ME A BREAK,WHO IS THAT CHARTER GUY . I WANT HIM TO KNOW THIS JOB IS NOT FOR HIM … THIS MAN KILL SOME BODY HE HAD KNOW COMPASSION FOR THIS LADY NOR HER FAMILY WHAT IF IT WAS ON OF UR RELATIVE? I WONDER IF U WOULD BE TALKING LIKE THIS.
you make me and my friends afraid to go out at night .
dominca polices are too slow they not doing their jobs
3 time you guy make a man run away , this time you all will not get him back .
DOMINICA IS VERY SLOW WHAT THE P.M IS DOING FOR THAT
KILL STEVEN AND DONE/////
what is the pm saying about that. bcause it look like those police not in a hurry to find him. no! wait! he will come back to you. all u waiting for him to hurt somebody again b4 all u catch him? 3 times that man have escaped? i still cannot blive it.
run steven run
I find guys escaping from Stockie how they want. If I was in charge, we put up a big electocuted fence around the whole prison. if you want to make a run for it, by all means.
The system too slack. prison is not no hotel. Guys have to be accounted for always and monitored every second of the day. fellas not supposed to take a dump without asking permission.
Mr. Charter is not in agreement with solitary confinement. I wonder why! If this prisoner was, then maybe he wouldn’t have escaped 3 times.
Hello….. Here is how we can prevent prisoners from escaping.
1. Shoot them in their legs..or in a leg (around the knee area on the ankle ..the joints then)
2. Put a tracking device inside them…like in the movies.
3. Set up security cameras around the prison cause it sounds like there are none.
4. Allow prostitutes in the prison so they will not have to escape to get a woman´s love. you all know what i mean
5.Give them all the luxuries like..direct tv..build a swimming pool. and give them alot of counselling.
yow u guys are really funny…. and yes Charter it is prison and thats why the guy escaped… lets face it if i were given a 40 year sentence i would want to escape… LOL…
I DON’T CARE WHY HE ESCAPE. I WANT TO KNOW HOW HE ESCAPE, AND WHY HE HASN’T BEEN CAPTURED? INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON WHY .FOUSE ON WHERE HE IS IN ORDER TO CATCH HIM…
Dominican people the only warning dat i can give is to make sure dat ur house is always locked.Remember we are in the carnival season so be careful.make sure ur kids are with u.Search the house befor goin to bed,make sure u guys are safe.Be careful people,take heed!
ah wah we d superintendent not joking non boy .u think this man escape because something bothering him so u want him to give up himself so he can tell u what it is that is bothering him. yes papa u are d best. i want to no if it was a member of yr family he had kill if u would be talking so? so when a man escape 3 times u still do belive he should be lockedup all the time ?when a convicted criminal escapes once u give him a chance when he is recaptured but twice ?is a habit .3 times a man like alphanso the demons in him should be kicked out dead or alive. and mr superintendent the man escapes for the simple fat that he dont want to be locked up in jail. and thats what bothers him .being locked behind bars .and u and i cant chang people only God can. my prayer is that this man does not hurt or murder someone else while his out there so u better go and find him
He “brutally murdered a young woman.” Why has he made 3 escapes? Is there no sense of justice?
Reading this article it is my opinion that Mr. carter need to be locked up in the same prison. It is clear that he canot handle this job.
heard earlier on that he was hiding out in carib reserve so u al should start searching there for him…. looks like he is preparing to make a get away back door
AS A PUBLIC SERVANT YOU DO NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT TO THE PUBLIC.. SIR HOW DO YOU WANT THE PUBLIC TO HELP TO CAPTURE THIS GUY.YOU SHOULD NOT COMMENT BECAUSE YOU GOT NOT A THING TO SAY AND IS BECAUSE OF YOUR POOR LEADERSHIP THIS MAN IS OUT THERE.IN ANOTHER COUNTRY SIR …..THIS IS IT 4U….I PRAY HE GO BACK TO THE PRISON SAFELY.
aye charter you doh tired lie de man did not escape that time you kno excatly what time de man escape you juct want to blame them man that work de .. to much .. happening in de prison evev prisoner coming in drunk
but that police not easy!!!!
Mr. Charter I am very sorry, but for making the excuses you need to go. Like Obama said “the buck stops with me.” you need to say the same. Take responsibility for it and resign. People are on alert, you have a code come back to jail now…..yeah….you know why he escaped and you cannot divulge…..prisoner/ supervisor of prisoner confidentiality. HeeHeee. Boy look thing in this here country. Do me a favor …resign.
There are many (non-convicted) criminals, who are more dangerous than this convicted murder,walking among us.
that sad.
security week
the man bored so every now and then he tries this stunt… On a serious note the prision needs to step up their security. employ people man.
Anyway anyway anyway anyway anyway….my country is the best…hm…according to one of the comments u would swear is a lost child we are searching for and pleading with him to come home…yesi…only in a DA country a convicted murderer can be deemed as a lost child…If Mr. Charter doesn’t want the man in the cell for 24 hrs then give him 1 hr sunlight under guard…not working with the others outdoors from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. …..anyway anyway anway…look jokes wi…I’m reading this article and laughing so hard as it reads like a nancy story…yesi
Let me begin by stating .. Sir, I respect the position that you have been placed into by this man successfully escaping your facility. But, please understand that the public is weary of the fact that a convicted murderer is walking the streets, after enacting his third; I say again THIRD escape from prison. You as a public official are expected to provide a fair and unbiased assessment on the : How, When, Where and Why’s of the escape. This is YOUR facility. The shortfalls of the staff are YOUR shortfalls, as their supervison and training are YOUR responsibilities. I believe that you may not have been ready to speak to the media, and therefore should have held off until you had clear, consice facts to put forward. Have you launched a formal inquiry/investigation into the processes and personnel involved with this breakout? Are the facilities at fault? Is it a training shortfall? Does the prison facility have manpower issues? Is this a problem that you have identified and reported to superiors in the past? Have they been addressed? Does the prison need to restructure overwatch guidelines and processes to better utilize personnel?… These are just a handful of questions that should have been asked by YOU and YOUR managerial staff as part of the inquiries about this foul blemish on the corrections system in OUR fair land. Please refrain from believing that the general public are lacking in the intelligence department. You are currently attempting to transfer blame to a 3 TIME escapee, from under YOUR supervision. There was every indication that this man would have attempted again. We the tax paying public would prefer candid, factual answers; NOT excuses. Frankly, you are not a Medical Doctor, and even less a Psychologist or Pyschiatrist. What possible value does your professional opinion of the man’s Psychological state hold? It would have been a smarter move to have simply “FALLEN ON YOUR SWORD” and dealt with the reprecussions of an open failure. I believe that now the prisoner has traversed beyond prison walls, it falls on the police to recapture him. I hope that they succeed. Additionally, PRISON is a place for rehabilitation, and that is what should be offered. Should a man or woman chooses to refuse this second chance, i.e…repeated escapes…there should be measures in place to restrict and restrain said individuals. The Primary concern of a prison should be to keep society safe, by maintaining an environment of isolation from the outside world. Work detail is a privilege, to be earned. Please sir, face the facts and let the public know what went wrong. An identifiable problem is a fixable problem.
Why would you want to rehabilitate a thug, a dirty dog, like Steve. That man should have been executed from the word go. We need to get rid of the Privy Council in London, just as we are getting rid of GCE O’Levels and A’ levels. The psychological effect he is suffering from is due to the fact that he has not been hanged when he should have been. Let’s find that vagabond, put that noose around his neck, and open up the trap at 7 in the morning AND get rid of that rat.
..Think before you speak, sir. Isn’t this guy a murder suspect? Somebody please correct me if i’m wrong.
hey this article is really funny, why the hell does anyone want to escape from prison, duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh come on people GIVE ME A BREAK, was he being molested come on what the story here my tax money paying i want to know..
Is mr. Charter a PSYCHOLOGIST?!?!?!?!?….”I would really love to see him come back to the prison to discuss it with him. I think it’s a whole psychological problem and it has to be dealt with at that level”…exactly mr. Charter…if it’s a psychological problem n needs to be dealt with at that level then get a forensic psychologist to deal with him…you talking about you want to discuss it with him..stupseeeeee
I totally agree with Mr Charter. Prison is not just about confinement but also about rehabilitation. Steve is just as human as every one of us and likewise deserves that opportunity. And trust me I know. I ‘lived’ with Steve for about 1 year in the security block.
darn he sounds like he wants to give the man an award for escaping prison> the man escape because he wanted to. Charter should be talking about ways to protect the citizens of the country by doing what he is paid to do instaed he playing psychologist. Man tighten up on this basket in stockfarm. ..
Papamet, my relatives live in the North. They need to have the police officers search for this guy, just like how the defense force use to search for Toomba, back in the day. This man’s face says it all. NOW TO MR. CHARTER, do you think this repeat prison escapee would tell anyone of his plans to escape from prison? The fact that he had escaped before should be reason enough not to have him extracting coal from coal pit. What lack of good judgment. You and the other prison officials should be help responsible for this one if he kills again. The man is desperate. Desparate people do desparate things. Now because of you all stupid decision to have him out working, all Dominicans are in jeopardy.
i am so amazed listening to mr. charter speaking that otter nonsense. wat charter not saying is steven alphonse is not an ordinary prisoner, that man has no heart, again i am speaking that way cuz i am very familiar with this guy and yes mr. charter steven alphonse should be locked up at all time. steven alphonse doe have a heart, and sir no matter wat help u think u can give him, that can’t work. the blood of the poor young, innocent girl is on his shoulders. and steven alphose has never showed any remorse for that crime, so mr. charter stop making people belive steven alphonse is like all other prisoner.
“You don’t lockup a man all the time. Prison is about giving people opportunities. Even if the man has escaped three times, you don’t.
…………
A quote from the interview above, and we wonder why these people do what they do, Mr charter should be retired, give me break , prison is about giving opportunities???? for what
Man de police have the guns, the tax payers paying for bullets , use the bullets!! shoot on site, what nuh , so we come then, stuppes
Dude had to have a special reason to escape? So being imprisoned wasnt enough?
Mr Charter sounds as if this prisoner is a lost child and is pleading with him to return “home.” He also said he knew why this man escaped. .. If someone has escaped three times from a prison, it just shows there is a major lack of security or that prisoner has “the hook -up.”
Steven Alphonse looks completely different now. He no longer has long hair, is clean shaven and lost alot of weight. I think that the prison should provide a recent photograph so that the escaped prisoner could be properly identified.
Find this man…
OMG! I live in the north!!!
The official “may know why prisoner escaped?” Well let’s guess – IT’S PRISON!!!!!! lolololol…