Ex-death row woman starts Halfway house

BEING RELEASED from prison is never an easy experience, especially when faced with a future that holds no job, no money, no shelter and the absence of family to get the support necessary to move on. Having this knowledge, former Death Row prisoner Claudine Henry has embarked on a project to establish a halfway house to provide support for female prisoners who are stepping into a society that does not “forgive and forget” past transgressions and who labels individuals based on their past mistakes and experiences.

In an interview with Newsday yesterday at her George Street office, Henry explained that the project, titled Woman Thou Art Loose Foundation, is expected to be launched by mid-December this year, and would be headquartered at 78-80 George Street, Port-of-Spain. Henry, who earned herself the infamous title of being the “first woman on death row” was sentenced to death in 1988, after being found guilty of the October 6, 1986 murder of taxi driver Emrold Charles, who was allegedly stabbed and killed during a botched robbery. Henry then 22, and two others were convicted and sentenced for the offence. Six years ago Henry was released from prison after appealing her case and has since vowed to spend her time helping other women who are coming out of the prison system.

“There is no real support system in place for women being released,” said Henry. “There are things in place for the men, all types of organisations, but nothing for women, and I realised that women were coming out of prison, and were being faced with the same problems as the men. There is no work, no money, we have our children to support, we have no home to go back to, because your own family sometimes looks at you as though it is someone else. They act as though you have changed and is no longer the loving person they once knew.” A very serious looking Henry pointed out that she can understand the many situations that women find themselves faced with, and the decisions they have to make in order to “make ends meet” for themselves and their children.

“There are women who are married to a drunk, a dead-beat or even someone who don’t care how the family get food,” explained Henry “sometimes an offer comes that sounds too good to refuse and you go with it thinking that this would be a one job thing just to put food on the table, just to feed your children. “The next thing you know you are in jail, court and then in prison, you get out and husband is no, longer there, the children are strangers and your home is no longer yours, what do you do? Henry said the aim of the Foundation is to help these women to re-enter society, to have a base where they can revitalise their energies, where they can relax, get re-acquainted with their children, get some skills and really get themselves prepared to enter society all over again.