Editing Haiti (section)

=== Haitian penitentiary system ===
Port-au-Prince [[Prison|penitentiary]] is home to half of Haiti's prisoners. The prison has a capacity of 1,200 [[Detention (imprisonment)|detainees]] but {{as of|2017|November|lc=y}} the penitentiary was obliged to keep 4,359 detainees, a 363% occupancy level.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://apnews.com/a43ce17acfd0425cb2af90a1133a8418|title=Malnutrition killing inmates in Haiti jails|work=apnews.com|first=David|last=McFadden|date=20 February 2017|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-date=2 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102124056/https://apnews.com/a43ce17acfd0425cb2af90a1133a8418|url-status=live}}</ref> The inability to receive sufficient funds has caused deadly cases of [[malnutrition]], combined with the tight living conditions, increases the risk of infectious diseases such as [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="auto" />

Haitian law states that once arrested, one must go before a judge within 48 hours; however, this is very rare.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Custom Report Excerpts: The Bahamas |url=https://2021-2025.state.gov/report/custom/da7d4d248e/ |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US}}</ref> Unless families are able to provide the necessary funds for inmates to appear before a judge, there is a very slim chance the inmate would have a trial, on average, within 10 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/living-hell-officials-alarmed-by-upsurge-of-inmates-dying-in-haiti-prisons/|title=Living hell: Officials alarmed by upsurge of inmates dying in Haiti prisons|date=20 February 2017|work=Fox News|access-date=30 March 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=31 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331035837/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/20/living-hell-officials-alarmed-by-upsurge-inmates-dying-in-haiti-prisons.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In confined living spaces for 22–23 hours a day, inmates are not provided with latrines and are forced to [[Defecation|defecate]] into plastic bags. These conditions were considered inhumane by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2008.<ref name="prison">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39034992|title=Haitian prison rife with malnutrition|date=21 February 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=30 March 2018|language=en-GB|archive-date=4 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504000600/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39034992|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 3 March 2024, armed gangs stormed the main prison in Port-au-Prince and around 3700 inmates escaped, while 12 people were killed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68462851|title=Haiti violence: Haiti gangs demand PM resign after mass jailbreak|work=BBC News|date=3 March 2024|access-date=11 March 2024|archive-date=12 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312034751/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68462851|url-status=live}}</ref>