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Earlier this week, we told you about the start of lawsuit that Orel Leslie has brought against the Belize Central Prison. He's suing the prison authorities for alleged ill-treatment, which he says he was subjected to for several months while he was remand, awaiting his retrial for murder.

As we told you, it's the first case in Belize where a former inmate is suing the management of the country's prison for inhumane treatment and a violation of his constitutional rights. Earlier in the week, he took the stand to give details of about this alleged ill-treatment. 

Well today, it was Virgilio Murrillo, the Prison CEO, who took the stand as one of the main witnesses for the defense. In his evidence, he provided the court with the prison's account of several incidents that Leslie has brought up as proof of this poor treatment.

Majority of CEO Murrillo's time on the stand was spent answering questions from Leslie's attorney, Audrey Matura, who went through the different elements of his sworn evidence. Under her cross-examination, Murrillo had to concede several times that he didn't interact with prisoners on a day-to-day basis, and that because he wasn't present. Matura was attempting to demonstrate to the court that he would not be of much help in determining if Leslie's claims are true or not. She focused her questions to extract from Murrillo that he only received second-hand accounts from the prison guards who interacted with Leslie while he was a prisoner.

After he exited the witness stand this afternoon, he spoke with us about his testimony, and about the attempts from Audrey Matura to chip away at the prison's defense to Leslie's claim. Here's how that conversation went:

Virgilio Murillo - CEO, Belize Central Prison
"They were just going through my affidavit as it relates to the case, the various counter pointers that I had given against the claim he is making against Belize Central Prison. So it was just a matter of going through them to cross examine me on whether what I said in there had any substance at all."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir we noticed that Ms. Matura spent the majority of her cross examination of you as her witness to try to show to court that you don't specifically deal with prisoners on a day to day basis, so you wouldn't know if any of them are being ill-treated on a first hand basis."

Virgilio Murillo
"That's pretty much what she focused on and it is highly I think impractical if you should use that word for the prison superintendent or the CEO to get into the day to day activity. So I essentially have to rely on the reports that are provided to be by my people, be it a guard, be it a counselor, it doesn't matter. So that is pretty much how I have to do my thing, so my affidavit really hinged on whatever report I read pertaining this particular case regarding the prison rules violations and those kinds of things. As it relates to whether the prisoner was being ill-treated or inhumanely treated, again, I believe if that there were anything of substance, come on we live in Belize were nothing is a secret for too long. Somebody, some prisoner, somebody would have definitely called the public on the outside and say hey listen, they are abusing this guy or they are ill-treating this guy and we would have heard that, that would have been news."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir, you do concede though that there could be a possibility that Mr. Leslie's claims may be true and that you yourself wouldn't know because you are getting second hand information."

Virgilio Murillo
"No don't get it twisted Daniel. Remember, I'm being asked a specific question, do you have first hand knowledge. I am under oath, where would it put me to say I know first hand when in fact I don't - I'm under oath now you know, that whole affidavit that I did, was done on the basis of the reports provided to me."

Daniel Ortiz
"People could lie in reports sir. Do you concede that people can embellish and keep certain details out it?"

Virgilio Murillo
"I understand but that's taking it to the extreme and I like I tell you, you know our culture, you know our people. Our people would have spread that rumor a long time ago."

Before Murrillo took the stand, Leslie's witnesses, who are current inmates at the Prison, presented their evidence to the court to corroborate his accounts of this alleged inhumane treatment. The two sides have already closed their cases, and the attorneys will now make written submissions to Justice Courtney Abel. After that, they return in February to make oral submissions to the judge, when they will try to convince him one way or the other about who's accounts are accurate. After that, the judge will deliberate and render a judgement.