National Penitentiary

Nearly 5000 Haitian criminals are being held in a building originally built in the 1930's and meant for only 1,500 inmates. The situation at Haiti's National Penitentiary is much the same in the country's other prisons. The overcrowding makes preserving order an uphill battle. A system of rotation allows officials to stop gangs from reforming within the walls, but the problem is exacerbated by delays in the judicial system. Many of the inmates are being held pending trials that may take many months to come.

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