PHILIPSBURG:--- The Ministry of Justice is launching a new television series titled HVB UNSCRIPTED scheduled to premiere on August 26th. The series initiated by the Honorable Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson is a concerted effort to discourage the youth from choosing a path of crime, and aims to depict the stories of how inmates and former inmates ultimately became a statistic in Sint Maarten’s criminal justice system. HVB UNSCRIPTED will also bring awareness of how choices, directly and indirectly, negatively affect everyone in the community. The film is being jointly produced by the Cabinet of the Minister of Justice, the Department of Judicial Affairs, Foundation Judicial Institutes Sint Maarten (SJIS), the Department of Communication, and the Point Blanche Prison and House of Detention.
Minister Richardson stated, “The Ministry of Justice places great value on the impact of the personal experiences of inmates and former inmates. As such, I found it imperative to provide a platform where the youth can hear the stories of those who are sitting lengthy sentences at the Point Blanche Prison and House of Detention, as well as former inmates currently in contact with the Probation Office.”
In the film, participants vividly describe their background, family life, and the circumstances or decisions that led them to prison. They expressed the realization that their decisions were not the right ones, and if they were faced with the choice to commit a crime again, they wouldn’t. The participants also gave details about survival on the inside, while participants who are former inmates delved into the positive journeys they are on since being released from prison.
The Ministry of Justice will be sharing a copy of each episode with all primary and high schools, as well as with the various youth organizations in a bid to encourage students to take a positive path in life while making the right choices that help them to avoid ever being in the criminal justice system.
Set and filmed in Sint Maarten, HVB UNSCRIPTED’s first season is scheduled to premiere this coming Friday, August 26th, 2022, at 8:00 PM, on TelEm’s TelTV+, TV15, TVCARiB, the official Facebook Pages of the Government of Sint Maarten and the Ministry of Justice, and the YouTube Channels Government of Sint Maarten and Ministry of Justice Sint Maarten.
A new episode of HVB UNSCRIPTED will be featured each month until December 2022. There is already interest for season two slated to premiere in 2023, following the stories of victims, family members of (former) inmates, and probation officers.
“I encourage the public to tune in this coming Friday, to the various viewing platforms, watch each episode with your children, and share the film with others to create awareness so that we can reach our youth across the nation and beyond. I’d like to thank all persons and departments for your contributions to getting this series launched. This would not be possible without the enthusiasm and willingness of the participants to share their experiences and the various departments involved,” concluded Minister Richardson.
