Prison Officer Abandons Appeal in Drug Case

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A veteran corrections officer convicted of smuggling drugs into the prison has abandoned his appeal against his conviction.

Herman Major, who worked at the Bahamas Department of Corrections for 39 years, was convicted of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply and taking prohibited items into a correctional facility following a trial before Magistrate Samuel McKinney.

Major was fined $5,000 on the drug charge with a default sentence of nine months in prison.

He was fined $2,500 for taking prohibited items into the prison and will serve six months in prison if the fine isn’t paid.

According to the prosecution, Major brought a pair of Nike Air Max tennis shoes to the prison for an inmate in maximum security to the property intake area.

Another officer cut the soles of the shoes open after noticing that the stitching was “non-factory.”

That’s when the officer found a total of five ounces of marijuana hidden inside the shoes.

In his testimony, Major denied knowing that drugs were hidden in the shoes.

He said he was unaware of a prison policy that prohibited officers for bringing property to inmates.

According to Major,  90% of the prison’s staff brought items for inmates.