Dear Pastor,

From I was living in Jamaica, I have been reading your column. I am now living in England and I am in prison. I buy the Jamaica Weekly Gleaner and I still read your column. I am incarcerated for crimes I did not commit. The other reason I am in prison is because of the colour of my skin and that I am a Jamaican. I can honestly say that I did not commit these crimes. I have cried night and day for the past seven years because I was brought up in a Christian home of honesty.

Pastor, if I say to you that I have never lied, I would be kidding you. But in this case, I am innocent and the evidence was swept under the carpet. Being in prison has taken a toll on me and my woman, and she passed away in 2010. She was the one who kept me going.

I have been in prison since June 2005. I have written to the Jamaican high commission and over the years I have tried to get our representative to help me, but no one replied. I called the high commission and one of the workers hanged up on me. I have his name, but I am not going to disclose it until I come out of prison.

Please tell me why when a Jamaican citizen gets arrested in Britain, the Jamaican High Commission turns a blind eye to us to please the British government. I have seen many Jamaican men in prison who say that they haven't done anything wrong and the reason why they are in prison is because of the colour of their skin or because they are Jamaicans. I can say that some of them may be innocent.

Many young black men who are British commit crimes and say that they are Jamaicans. They have confessed that to me. Many of the guys who are deported to Jamaica are uneducated like myself, but I am determined to fight for my rights.

I have not seen any light at the end of the tunnel. I don't want to go into any details about my case, but I am armed with the evidence to prove my innocence. I have spent all my money trying to fight this case. I am asking the Jamaican Government to send a solicitor or someone from the high commission to see me.

D.M. (Prisoner).

Dear D.M.,

Let me ask you a question: Why is it that you have written me such a long letter (much of it I have deleted) and not once have you mentioned the charges that have been laid against you? What are you hiding? You claim to be an innocent man and that you did not commit the crimes that have caused you to be in prison, but you have not stated the crimes.

I am in no position to appeal to the Jamaican Government to assist you. However, whether you are guilty or not, I can promise you that I will pray for you. I wish you well.

Pastor