The Caribbean Human Rights Network has publicly urged the establishment of a detention and rehabilitation center for students and first offenders. The Government reported that it investigated the 1995 allegation of a gang rape of a young prisoner by other inmates and determined it to be without foundation. The Government allows private groups to visit prisons to ascertain conditions. The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and requires detainees to be brought before a court of law within 72 hours of arrest. The Government generally respects these provisions in practice.
Criminal defendants have the right to counsel, and attorneys have ready access to their clients.
The authorities do not use exile as a punishment or means of political control. The judiciary acts independently and is free of intervention by other branches of government. The Constitution provides that persons charged with criminal offenses be given a fair public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court, and the Government respects this right in practice. The judicial system provides for the right of due process at each level. The law presumes defendants innocent until proven guilty.