By: Yelyzaveta “Liza” Aleksyeyeva, 2L
The Dominican Republic’s Constitution and penal code dictate that preventative detention is an “exceptional” measure, with six alternative options that do not involve prison time. Yet, the country continues to allow pretrial detention in nearly all criminal cases where no charges have been filed, without making structural changes to the system.
Over 60% of the country’s roughly 26,000 inmates are currently being held under preventative detention without any charges, according to the National Public Defense Office. These pretrial detainees are called “frog men” because they are forced to sleep on prison floors, often next to overflowing toilets or holes that serve as one. Prisoners are amassed in spaces such as cafeterias. Some detainees have been in prison for up to 20 years without a finding of guilt for a crime. Additionally, the National Commission of Human Rights found that around 2,700 inmates remain in prison in the status quo mainly because their paperwork is backlogged. The most recent report, released in 2023, called for prison closure due to the level of overcrowding that made it impossible to achieve the rehabilitation of inmates who are either awaiting to be charged or are in the pretrial detention stage.
The prison reform began in the early 2000s, when the Dominican Republic began building 21 new prisons to improve general prison conditions nationwide. These facilities were intended to be staffed by professional personnel rather than police or soldiers, who at the time oversaw the country’s remaining 19 prisons.
Public corruption has hindered the construction of new prisons, which was expected to ease overcrowding in recent years. Initially, it was announced that funds recovered from corruption cases would help finance the new prisons. For example, La Victoria National Penitentiary – the oldest and largest prison in the Dominican, located in the capital of Santo Domingo was built to house a maximum of 2,100 inmates and now holds more than 7,000. In this same facility, just in the past year, 11 inmates died in a fire caused by a short-circuit in a cell leading to a fire and explosion. Furthermore, inmates and pretrial detainees are subjected to inhumane conditions, including a lack of bathrooms, natural light, and ventilation, with over 5,000 inmates suffering from illnesses ranging from HIV to heart problems.
Former prisons director Roberto Santana has projected that 25 new prisons, capable of holding more than 20,000 inmates, will be completed by 2028. Santana was specifically tasked with overhauling and improving the country’s more than 40 prisons. However, because the solutions require significant time and financial investment—both of which the government has historically struggled with—the country should consider creating a rehabilitative environment that gives inmates a chance at reintegration.
