E. Prison conditions 40. Regarding prison conditions on death row, the petitioners provide the following information which was not contested by the State:40 “No integral sanitation and the provision of plastic pails for use as toilets which they were allowed to empty twice a day. No natural lighting except a fluorescent strip illuminated 24 hours a day outside the cells above the door. Suffer[ing] from the effect of infestation of mosquitoes, sand flies, cockroaches, crickets and Pigeons in their cells. [Being] let out only twice a month for exercise, during one hour, handcuffed prohibiting useful exercise. Exhaust fumes from vehicles parked in the prison yard entering the cells causing unacceptable levels of air pollution, contributing to and aggravating the first victim’s sinus condition. Not [being] permitted basic hygienic products – a Doctor’s prescription is required for the victims to receive hair shampoo. No opportunities for education or self-improvement, and occupy their time by reading limited reading materials and listening to the radio. Inadequate and almost inedible [food], with rice and bread often containing small particles of rock or gravel causing dental and digestive problems. Restrictive diets are imposed as punishment for breaches of prison discipline. Many inmates lose significant body weight and suffer from malnutrition. The first victim is denied the consumption of vegetables as recommended by the Prison doctor, despite his family’s willingness to provide it at their cost. Further his special diet to treat his ulcer, was stopped and he has not been taken to appointments at the General Hospital since August 2005 and experiences difficulties in obtaining prescription tablets for this condition via the prison superintendent. [Sporadic] access to medical attention. The state not taking steps to ensure the victims do not have to endure proximity to or view of the physical site of execution or the display of condemned prisoners on their way to being executed. – claim that the persistent reminders of their imminent death, irrespective of any intention by the State or its indifference or carelessness, inflict mental trauma.” 41. Further, on March 5, 1995, the General Secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association made the following statement in the national newspaper:41 “The majority empathise with the inmates because we have to work in the same conditions in which they live. We have a duty to patrol these areas for hours…making periodic checks and walk the pathways that are sticky with filth” “The conditions are highly deplorable, unacceptable and pose a health hazard” “It is not easy when there are eleven human beings in a 9’ x 6’ cell with a five gallon pigtail bucket for a toilet in one corner. It is not a lie when they say you have to sit on the pail or stand up and sleep. It is terrible and it really, really stinks. I won’t put my animals in there.” IV. ANALYSIS OF LAW A. Preliminary considerations 1. Application of the American Declaration and the American Convention 42. Trinidad and Tobago is a Member State of the Organization of American States since 1967. On May 28, 1991, it became a party to the American Convention when it deposited its instrument of ratification. On May 26, 1998, the State gave notice of its denunciation of the Convention to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), and pursuant to Article 78(1) of the Convention, the denunciation became effective on May 26, 1999. 43. As established above, the facts denounced in the instant case started in February 1995. Therefore, the alleged violations that took place between that date and May 26, 1999, will be analyzed under the American Convention, and those that took place after the entry into force of the denunciation of the American Convention will be analyzed under the American Declaration. 40 41 Dial and Dottin. Letter to IACHR containing observations on merits 10/34915364_3. Revised Petition for and on behalf of the alleged victims, dated April 18, 2008. 8