g) Testimony of Inés Ramona Bogarín Peralta, from the Ministry of Justice and Labor Mrs. Inés Ramona Bogarín Peralta, a State employee, testified on the operation of the La Esperanza Educational Center.
h) Testimony of Mirtha Isabel Herreras Fleitas, psychologist and official of the Ministry of Justice and Labor The Center served as a school to teach inmates how to completely abandon their “behavioral option” or adapt it to enable them to survive. However, it did not have sufficient specialized personnel and lacked the means needed to perform its functions.
The general personality characteristics of these young inmates were the following: family conflict, in every respect; contact with drugs from an early age (8 years old and thereafter), alienation from the family; family members with a history of conflict with the law, intrapunitive and extrapunitive aggressiveness, anxiety, depression, suicidal tendencies, psychosis and criminal experiences prior to detention.
The Center did not have a deliberate policy of violence in dealing with the young inmates. When violence erupted, the authorities listened and adopted a posture aimed at preventing those situations. On a number of occasions the witness saw the Director’s Office admonish the staff about mistreatment and violence against inmates. However, the center did have an organizational weakness.
The witness discussed the advances that the Itauguá Comprehensive Education Center represents.