Mike Lanchin reports from El Salvador that prisoners in one of the country's jails have chosen, by lottery, four fellow inmates to be killed unless the government agrees to improve conditions by next Monday. Problems at the Santa Ana prison are the same as those in jails across El Salvador: jails are filled way beyond capacity, there is not enough food or sleeping space, and many inmates have not even been charged with a crime, let alone tried. A member of El Salvador's Supreme Court has suggested an amnesty for all those charged with minor crimes. The Salvadoran legislature is expected to discuss the crisis today.
Copyright 1996 NPR
