Guyana pledges to ease overcrowding after fatal prison riot

GEORGETOWN, Guyana _ The South American country of Guyana says it will hire more guards and take steps to ease overcrowding at its main prison, where 17 inmates died in a three-day riot.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan said Monday that prisons in rural western Guyana are being upgraded to house additional prisoners now being held in the capital of Georgetown. He said the number of guards in the country’s interior also needs to be boosted from 54 to 100.

The government recently promised that it also would improve food, speed up trials and increase the number of telephone calls to families.

The uprising occurred last Thursday when inmates set mattresses on fire to protest prison conditions. A top prison official has been placed on leave as officials investigate the riot.

The Associated Press