Haitian prisoners are dying in increasing numbers as violence, state collapse and chronic overcrowding turn the country's jails into dangerous places, where people wait years for a hearing. More than 50 detainees died between July and September, according to a United Nations report that described prison conditions as inhumane and degrading.
Cells are packed far beyond capacity, medical care is scarce and most detainees have not yet seen a judge, the UN warned, adding that Haiti's deep humanitarian crisis has fed this collapse of the prison system.
Armed street violence is preventing people from moving around, institutions are falling apart and widespread poverty is pushing families to breaking point.
The report, published on 11 November, said more than 7,200 people – men, women and minors – were being held in facilities that are often three times over their original capacity.
At least 82 percent of detainees are stuck in prolonged pre-trial detention. Many have spent years waiting for a first hearing.
One prisoner in Port-au-Prince told William O’Neill, the UN expert on the human rights situation in Haiti, that he had been waiting two years for a hearing in a case involving an alleged theft of shoes.
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Years in cramped cells
O’Neill described the conditions as “subhuman”, adding there was not enough food or medical care and that prisoners were kept in cells for long hours with very little air, light, drinking water or access to toilets and showers.
He said 52 deaths were recorded in the three-month period from July to September, mostly from preventable diseases made worse by the lack of care and clean water.
UN figures said gangs now control around 90 percent of Port-au-Prince, often stopping courts and prison staff from carrying out basic duties.
In March 2024, attacks on the national penitentiary and the Croix-des-Bouquets prison led to the escape of 4,600 detainees. The episode further weakened the system.
Before 2021, the prison network had around 3,000 places. Floods, attacks and demolitions then cut its capacity. Violence in the west of the country worsened the decline.
Five prisons in the capital were abandoned due to extreme threats from armed gangs. No reconstruction plan has begun.
Crisis in Jacmel
Jacmel, a coastal city known for its beaches and carnival celebrations, is facing one of the most critical situations. Fourteen detainees died in the prison there in July.
The Mobile Institute for Democratic Education (IMED) said Jacmel was the most worrying prison it had seen this year. “It has no doctor. Are the authorities not informed? To me, this seems deliberate,” IMED director Kettly Julien said.
The organisation said that cells are cramped, foul smelling and overcrowded, without ventilation, adding that poor care and close contact mean disease spreads rapidly.
"As soon as one inmate falls ill, he easily transmits his disease to others," the institute said.
Frantz Comonce, a lawyer and coordinator of the legal aid office in Jacmel, criticised the lack of food and drinking water. Families, he said, often have to bring water themselves, which many cannot afford to do regularly.
Jacmel’s prison holds nearly 800 detainees in 17 cells. Comonce said the facility needs medicine but that the most urgent needs are food and water. Detainees also need time outdoors, he added.
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Warnings ignored
Haiti's National Network for the Defence of Human Rights (RNDDH) warned that the wave of deaths stems directly from these conditions.
“It's not a surprise that people continue to die in prison. There have been many warning signals, but they were ignored,” programme head Marie-Rose Auguste said, accusing the authorities of failing to act.
“The authorities continue to trample on the rights to life, health and dignity of incarcerated people.”
The rights group also criticised the slow pace of judges and prosecutors, saying case files remain stalled, trials are delayed and prolonged detention remains the norm.
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Calls for action
Meanwhile the Office for the Protection of Citizens, Haiti’s national human rights ombudsman, raised similar concerns in March, saying conditions were inhumane and contradicted international conventions ratified by Haiti.
After its investigation, it issued recommendations urging urgent measures.
Its head, Jean Wilner Morin, said the solution lies in building proper prison facilities that ensure dignity and meet international standards.
Unless the justice system cuts prolonged detention, unless cells stop being overcrowded and dirty, and unless access to water, food and care improves, the situation will only grow worse, RNDDH warned.
This article was adapted from the original version in French by Peterson Luxama, RFI's correspondent in Port-au-Prince.
