20 accused inmates in preventive custody. To the contrary, it largely acknowledges the allegations when it asserts the following: The State does not contest the fact that the prisons in Honduras, especially those in the cities of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, are in crisis, owing to the high number of inmates incarcerated in the various institutions, which in many cases exceeds the number they were designed to hold. Nor does the State dispute the fact that in many of these prisons, the electrical system, potable water supply system, sanitary system and others are completely nonfunctional. […] [T]he State of Honduras does not dispute the fact that the conditions at the prisons with the largest inmate populations are not what they should be and are not befitting the dignity of the human person. However, we have also told the Commission of the efforts the State is making to correct this situation, which can largely be blamed on a shortage of resources […] 40 . 50. One of the factors exacerbating the situation in the prison system is the increase in the degree of overpopulation triggered by the massive arrests conducted as a consequence of the amendments to Article 332 of the Penal Code. 41 According to the initial report issued by the United Nations Human Rights Committee –which was based on information that the State itself suppliedthe total capacity of the 24 prisons in the country is 8,280; however, as of 2004, the inmate population was 10,931, a figure that had risen to 11,723 by 2008. 42 Thus, judging from information provided, the penal reforms adopted as part of the “zero tolerance” policies have had direct consequences on the general conditions in prisons, especially the overpopulation and overcrowding in those establishments to which persons accused of belonging to a gang are sent. D. The judicial process in Honduran courts 51. The first investigative proceedings into the events began on the very day the fire occurred, Monday, May 17, 2004. The criminal case began on August 11, 2004, the day on which the Prosecutor General of the Republic brought an indictment against Mr. Elías Aceituno Canaca, Director of the San Pedro Sula Prison at the time of the fire, charging him with manslaughter (in the death of the deceased inmates) and dereliction of duty, and thereby instituting case No. 1009-04. 43 40 The State’s response, received on February 28, 2007. 41 The petitioners’ submissions on the merits, dated April 10, 2009. Annex 8. Andino Mencia, Tomás. Mano Suave y Mano Dura en Honduras. [A Soft Touch and a Hard Hand in Honduras] Lecture delivered at the 1st Central American Congress on Youth, Security and Justice. Antigua, Guatemala, March 15 and 16, 2008, p. 33; OAS, Department of Public Security, Definition and Classification of Gangs – Annex VI. Honduras Report, p. 3. Available at: http://www.oas.org/dsp/documentos/pandillas/AnexoVI.Honduras.pdf; Petitioners’ submissions, dated April 21, 2007. Annex: CONADEH. Special Report with recommendations on the fire in the San Pedro Sula Prison on May 17, 2004, p. 25. 42 UN Committee against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 19 of the Convention. Initial Reports Due in 2008. Honduras, September 9, 2008. CAT/C/HND/1, paragraph 223. Available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/CAT.C.HND.1.pdf 43 The petitioners’ submissions on the merits, dated April 10, 2009. Annex 20. CD with the record of the domestic court proceedings in the case and testimony. Case 1009/04. Volume I. Folios 1-16: Bill of indictment against Elías Aceituno Canaca.