A controversy over inmate medical treatment has emerged in the Bahamas following the death of Thomas Jean-Baptiste, a prisoner who passed away earlier this month after three weeks of hospitalization. National Security Minister Myles Laroda has publicly defended the care provided by correctional services, maintaining that prison leadership is confident Jean-Baptiste received all necessary and adequate treatment before his death.
Minister Laroda told reporters he has been briefed by the Commissioner of Corrections on the details of Jean-Baptiste’s time in custody. According to the commissioner’s account, Jean-Baptiste already had pre-existing health conditions when he was admitted to prison, and was promptly referred to a local hospital for initial care. After treatment, he was returned to the facility, but when his health declined again, he was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital, where he remained for approximately three weeks before his death on October 4. Jean-Baptiste, who had been diagnosed with diabetes, morbid obesity, and a history of life-threatening blood clots, had been back in custody since July, when the Court of Appeal rejected his legal challenge to his original prison sentences and revoked his medical bail.
During his statement, Minister Laroda noted that correctional officials arranged for Jean-Baptiste to be housed in a dormitory located close to the prison infirmary, rather than a standard cell, and that he had consistent access to his prescribed medication. “The commissioner and other senior prison officials are confident that Mr Jean-Baptiste received adequate, appropriate care throughout his time in custody,” Laroda emphasized.
However, the official account of the incident is directly contested by Jean-Baptiste’s family. His sister, Alicia Jean Baptiste, has publicly alleged that her brother received grossly inadequate care after he was ordered back to prison. She claims that in the weeks leading up to his hospitalization, Jean-Baptiste repeatedly complained about poor medical treatment and insufficient access to food. When asked if she believed prison officials did everything reasonably possible to save her brother’s life, she responded firmly: “Absolutely not, they made no efforts, period. The court order did not matter. It did not stand. They took no care, no concern.”
Ms Jean Baptiste further outlined specific allegations of negligence. She claims that despite a requirement for Jean-Baptiste to be housed in the prison infirmary due to his health status, he spent nearly a month in the facility’s intake unit before being transferred to another general section. That unit, she alleges, lacked working air conditioning, experienced frequent power outages, and was located far from the infirmary, making it difficult for Jean-Baptiste to access care quickly. She also claims that the medication Jean-Baptiste had purchased before returning to custody was not consistently administered to him, contradicting the government’s claim that he had regular access to medication.
Jean-Baptiste was serving concurrent sentences of three years for illegal possession of a firearm and two years for possession of ammunition. His appeal, launched on the grounds that his serious underlying medical conditions justified reducing his sentence or replacing it with a non-custodial sentence, was rejected by the Court of Appeal in July, leading to his return to state custody and the events that followed his death.