Five Westgate Inmates Receive GED Certificates
Earlier today [July 9], the Premier and Minister of National Security Michael Dunkley presented General Education Diplomas [GED] certificates to five inmates of the Westgate Correctional Facility.
After successfully completing their courses of study, Rashuan Codrington, Kofi Dill, Shannon Forth, Darrion Simons and Shannon Tucker received certificates.
The Premier said, “Each inmate spoke about the paths they had taken to reach this point of success and it was moving to hear them take responsibility for their actions and to commit to continuous improvement.
“I am always pleased to have the opportunity to share in this kind of achievement and it speaks volumes about the commitment of the team at Corrections who refused to give up on their mission of empowering inmates to lead productive lives after incarceration.”
The Premier, who travelled to Dockyard via Police boat, was joined by Acting Commissioner of Corrections Mrs. Keeva Joell-Benjamin, Assistant Commissioner Mr. Kenneth Cann, and Ms. Shawnette Somner, Education Officer.
Deep down inside he’s saying “What a waste of F#%@ing time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and you are an AH. my opinion because I don’t read minds either
Ya well it’s not like he’s not known for saying it !!!!!!!!!!!!!
MIC CHECK, MIC CHECK
yeah I agree …..milkman is phony….
You are certainly wrong. Premier Dunkley is one of the most genuine and caring men I have ever met. This is a man that loves his country and cares about its people.
There are plenty of phony politicians out there.
He is NOT one of them.
You clearly don’t know the man… but your comment does say a lot about you.
I have known him for years. He’s phony; always has been and always will be
Okey dokey….clue me in. What does my comment say about me?
FYI I DO know him personally. I have known him and his family for years, waaay before he even went into politics.
My comment stands.
Next!
@Danielle what your comment says about you, I don’t know. What it says about the minister is that he is different things to different people. And I guess this is to be expected; after all, he is human.
Like yours, my comment stands!
I, am so very proud of these young men, they have achieved a goal,and God willing they will achieve more.Congrats to them and Corrections Dept.Well Done.
You guys look pretty in ya fuscia graduation gowns.
Well done.
How is this such a great accomplishment?? If they weren’t playing the fool then they would have finished high school when they were supposed to. I’m going to guess that they are trying to use that to get parole at the earliest possible date. Did Kofi Dill not get sent to prison for a good bit of time for gun crimes? Throw away the key for him. Think about all the victims in their crimes who suffer not these low lifes.
I think you’re forgetting the fact these five people have elected to make the best of their time during incarceration to improve themselves and hopefully return to society as productive citizens.
Well done all!
Your Key word HOPEFULLY…..
Seemed to work well for our Tourism Minister !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This IS a great accomplishment…Maybe not to YOU…but definetely to THEM…..Many have fooled around and than “Caught” themselves….Yes it might be hard for some to “accept” because of their crimes but if you think about it they don’t have to answer to you or to anyone else that thinks likewise…..THEY are accountable for THEIR actions……They have accomplised a feat that they were not able to do so previously……I try not to judge others because NO ONE is perfect…..Yes they may have caused grief and pain to others but their families are suffering as well…..Many others before them have committed crimes…served time and have gone on to further their education whilst incarcerated and all though many might not like or agree they have gone on and become productive citizens in the community…….
Everyone deserves a second chance and to be forgiven even those of you who post such negative and hateful comments. God forgives you and so do I.
Dont believe in the invisible man in the sky so your forgiveness and his mean nothing. Glad they got educated off of my dollar. Smh.
I believe in second changes as well but would you still feel the same way if this happened more than three times.
@ Mess Around, it’s great because they accomplished it. No matter when, better late than never. We all deserve second chances and I’m sure at some point in your life under some circumstance, you have had yours. Don’t hate, try to find some forgiveness in your heart.
sometimes people go down the wrong path in life…why think negative…you dont kno there thoughts ..so for now just congratulate them and try to support…..your comment may be able to change lives !!!Be POSITIVE!!! everyone has a different life path
young, 18, bermudian, girl and positive
Mess around shut the f*** up. Kofi Dill never kill no one.
This island is ass backwards…the prisoners are the victims and are rewarded and the victims become prisoners when these fools get released (with a GED)!
“the prisoners are the victims…..”
No! you got that a** backwards!
Prisoners are treated like the victims!
Sarcasm mate
just another con job to try to impress the Parole Board
Are you calling ya Tourism Minister a CON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So are you saying your Tourism Minister did a CON job??????????????????
Or your Shadow Minister of Workforce Development?
Maybe he can train some unemployed Bermudians to be ‘bankers.’
Those Westgate folk get treated better than me. I guess to live the good life Westgate is the place to be.
Well let me know how it its, oh don’t drop de soap !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe if they had got this at school they wouldn’t be in prison!
They had the chance to get it in school they chose the path to try n be bout that life n look were it got them.
Jail suppose to b for rehabilitation everyone deserves a second chance the same chance shaun crockwell got same chance charles richardson got sometimes it takes the wrong path to get u right Mr richardson shot ppl an came out a fully rehabilated man after 8 years now that’s wat I call great work on part of prison officers or whoeva played a part in rehabilatatin his life but now days u commit that same crime ull get 25 years or even jus get caught in possesion of a gun ull get 10 ppl are gettin crucified for makin a mistake in life some first time mistakes if this was the case in mr richardson case or mr crockwell would we eeven know them today it was after they got a second chance that we noticed that they are good black men who very important in society today all I’m sayin is everybody deserves a chance have a bless day
Do you even know what puctuation is?
Do you even know how to spell “punctuation”? Just appreciate the message.
Is this story about the Premier or the inmates? Why are there more pictures of him than of them? Just a question
It’s called Optical Illusions, a visually perceived image that differs from objective reality !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because they don’t want their faces shown.
Friends and family know them.
It’s quite simple when you have an open mind.
Shalom.
I think it’s great that these individuals have done something positive for themselves despite their past failings. What really sickens me are the pathetically negative postings that I see here and the blatant politicizing of the event.
Not everyone are “model citizens” as you some seem to imply with their snide remarks. My guess is that some of you are probably not high achievers yourselves and may be the source of your criticisms.
I don’t expect everyone to be overjoyed but let’s give credit where credit it is due people!
High achievers? Youve got to be kidding. Ok so a guy kills or seriously injures someone then Goes to prison. In prison he decides he wants to be a lawyer, the education he receives in prison is paid for by us! So in reality he gets his law degree for free! Thats fair? What about the rest of us who have to bust @ss for the better part of a decade at a significant cost to us to receive the same accreditation? Smh. U guys are real jokers. So people, if u want a highet education for free, get sent to prison for a few years. We got u covered.
Congrats! I have lots of respect for those who go do their GED because it takes a lot of focus to get back on the education train (more focus than I had in high school anyway…) well done.
Sorry… I got caught up in the negativity of some of the comments that I failed to congratulate the men on achieving their certificates. I hope they continue to build on their accomplishment.
It is sad that we have to be so negative and hateful. We are all God’s children and should not be sitting in judgement of others like we tend to do. Many times it is this type of thinking that makes our youth give up. Be positive and follow God’s example in our treatment of others. Expect the best! Congratulations young men and continue to strive further! God bless!!
Your tellin me if a guy kills ur mother or sells drugs to your mother n causes her to die they deserve a second chance?
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us.
I congratulate them for taking this step, however, it doesn’t take away from why they are actually in jail and for those families still dealing with the aftermath of it all it is understandable.
sheer waste of Tax payers Money!
These guys should get NOTHING!..absolutely NOTHING!
all you bleeding hearts make me sick..and I’ll tell ya’ll why..
if it was your Mom or Dad or Relative these bastards killed or sold drugs to or Raped your girl ya’ll would be wanting to Murder them..so shut the eff up with ya bleeding heart crap about deserving a 2nd chance.
I feel very conflicted with this situation. As a mother of a daughter who was raped , brutally , by three boys.. i call them boys, I was very angry. A good friend advised me thatuntil i forgave them, I would not be able to get on with my life. I thought it was impossible but at the time, I forgave them. However even now, many years later, I think back and still have my cry . that was so lng ago but the wounds are still fresh. Sometimes I find myself making sure they still are incarcerated and only then do I feel better and can cope. When you have been devestated by someone elses actions, you never know how long recovery takes. years and years later, you can still feel the exact sadness as fresh as the day it happened. Did I really forgive or did I stop focusing on the hate so that they would not ruin my life? My daughter has thankfully moved passed this, but I wonder what life would have been like without this incident. I am not the same person and neither is she. Dont ever underestimate the impact.
I would normally agree with the people that say everybody deserves a second chance.
However, in some cases that just doesn’t apply. I don’t know what these guys are in jail for, but at least one of them is a convicted murderer. Convicted murderers do not deserve second chances at anything. Why should they?
They have put somebody six feet under, who will never get a second chance at anything. While this guy is crowing at his “accomplishment”, his victim is rotting in the ground. How can he ever be proud of ANYTHING, when he has stolen somebody’s life and left a void in somebody life FOREVER. All you have to do is read about the impact this has on the victim’s family’s life, and you will understand what I am saying. There is a prime example from a widow reported today on another media site. Will bring tears to your eyes.
You take somebody’s life, you should pay with your own. That time spent on studying for your GED should be spent thinking about what you have done. Every second of every day.
Also your telling me if one of these men touched off a lil girl/boy they deserve a second chance. I think u should think bout that second chance choice. Smh
Mr D has taken the time to participate in an area rarely even approached,I ‘ll give him points for this….good for you D…..find dose lost souls…..good for you……this is a place church hould sow some seeds as well…