Winston Hall: Bajan Spiderman- No Way Home
When we last told the story of Winston Hall, he had been well and truly caught after his second escape from the HMP Glendairy and his secret travel to Trinidad and Tobago. We documented how the harsh environment of prison had changed him from the quiet non-violent man to one that leapt at any chance to enact it. How his new temperament and desire for a family led him to burn down the house of his would be step-daughters. He was alone, falsely accused of murder for a second time and well and truly caught. Yet despite this, Winston Hall does not go quietly.
Hall being led to court
Adams, Georgina. Winston Hall Guilty or Innocent?: A True Life Story. Barbados: Georgiana Adams, 2006. pg 186
It had been 15 months since Winston had been returned to his now familiar second home and by all accounts, he had reverted back to the quiet model prisoner he had always been (Adams pg 140). Maybe he had simply been a big fish in Guapo, maybe the stress of hiding his secret had finally been eased and he could relax, or maybe Winston Hall was planning something. He had stopped eating meat, moving to a vegetable diet and had slimmed down to 120lbs (Adams pg 152). Hall was not allowed out of his cell unless to shower as ordered by Superintendent George Clark, who famously stated that Winston would never escape again. Even on his trips to the showers he was to be escorted handcuffed by three guards while the bucket he used to bathe with was to be checked.
Due to this, junior officers Gairy Belgrave and Carl Jackson had gotten to know Winston Hall fairly well over his time in prison, they thought they knew him. Yet on September 23rd 1999 as they were escorting him on the path they had taken so many times before, once again Winston simply…ran, tearing across the yard clad only in his underwear to the bathroom gate throwing his bucket aside as he approached. The guards, shocked by this sudden occurrence never had a chance. The prisoners were cheering ‘Winston running, Winston running’ and David Leacock a prisoner marvelled that it was something from ‘a spiderman comic strip’ (Adams pg 153). While Belgrave and Jackson tried their hardest to capture Hall, the most they had grasped was one of his shoes as he clambered over the gate swiftly. He then climbed onto the roof of the coral shed, down the gallows and jumped straight over the cat wire to freedom, a 30-foot drop. A manhunt was launched stretching from Licorish Village and Station Hill all the way to the cane fields of Lears plantation, only turning up Winston’s yellow boxers. He had given them the slip (Adams pg 142).
The police were desperate to find him, he had made a mockery of them once again. The community was singing, brimming with wonder and excitement, talks of they let Winston get away again flew around the country. Winston Hall once more had escaped and once more he evaded the police for years despite never leaving Barbados. He had already proven his mastery at staying hidden and applied it once more.
Now this escape was nothing short of a feat of supreme athleticism. Yet still as with the case of all his escapes he had been once more aided by good old incompetence. The inquiry following his escape uncovered that only two of the required three guards required to escort him were present, furthermore Hall had not even been handcuffed as he walked to the showers. Officers Belgrave and Jackson would have sleepless nights after his escape as they replayed how they had been lulled by his false amiableness (Adams pg 149). To make matters worse a prisoner accused Belgrave of helping Hall escape, claiming that when Winston stopped at the shower gate, Belgrave boosted him over and then threw the bucket to Hall, a bucket which would later be found containing a rope of bedsheets. The officer denied this, and when asked why he did not attempt to climb the gate he responded that he was 246 lbs to Winston’s 120, on the topic of the bucket he argued he could not have thrown the bucket to the escapee because even as Hall ran, he himself wondered why the prisoner still held the bucket in his hands, additionally the guards did not check his bucket as the night crew had already done so (Adams pg 152). Lastly and arguably most crucially, the armed sentry on duty, Officer Harry Greenidge did not know how to operate the shotgun he had been given. Initially he had lied when questioned on his training with the weapon saying he was informally trained, however on December 3rd 1999 during the inquiry he admitted to never having received any training at all explaining that the gun jammed when he put a bullet in the breach (Ramsey pg 154).
Forensics removing Hall’s body from the scene
Adams, Georgina. Winston Hall Guilty or Innocent?: A True Life Story. Barbados: Georgiana Adams, 2006. pg 192
Decourcey Headley was nothing but a simple St Joseph shopkeeper whose life was permanently altered by Winston Hall. He had been home relaxing in his chair when he heard a gunshot ring out. He heard a voice say ‘drop the cutlass’ and another voice replying ‘wunna got to kill me first’ followed by another two shots (Adams pg 156). Mr Headley had witnessed the end of Winston Hall on May 27th 2004, killed by Constable Henderson Yearwood (Adams pg 168). His hair was dreadlocked once more, his beard tied into a knot, he had been carrying a cutlass sharpened on both sides akin to his Guapo days, and a black haversack containing $10,000 amongst other stolen goods. Winston Hall was dead. He would rather die than serve time for a crime he did not commit.
Perhaps if he had gotten more opportunities when he was younger, perhaps if he had never met Peter Bradshaw and David Oliver, perhaps if the justice system was not skewed against poor black men he might never have been trapped in a life on the run. Perhaps if he had sealed away his desire for a family, he never would have chased Veronica Lawrence. But Winston Hall was a human being and we are principled creatures. Winston Hall felt as if he was being taken advantaged of and took matters into his own hands, he dreamt of a family to replace the one he had lost and he died to maintain his dignity. Though he was by no means a good man by the end of his life, it was a life warped by stress and tribulation that would change most people into far worse beings than him. On June 3rd 2004 Winston Hall was buried, the ceremony taking place at Two Sons Funeral Home where over 400 people came to pay their respects (Ramsey pg 162). After all Winston Hall was a folk hero, a symbol for poor Barbadians who felt as if he had been oppressed by the system, or identified with him as they too felt similarly oppressed. It further goes to show Winston Hall was like any man from this time, any of these people could have been Winston Hall, and there should be great care taken to not create another one in the future.
Grieving family at Hall’s funeral
Adams, Georgina. Winston Hall Guilty or Innocent?: A True Life Story. Barbados: Georgiana Adams, 2006. pg 193
Bibliography
Adams, Georgina. Winston Hall Guilty or Innocent?: A True Life Story. Barbados: Georgiana Adams, 2006.