Rep. Corrine Brown: “I visited two prisons, one in Guayaquil and one in Quito. The first one that I visited, 2,500 people in prison, 400 had…”

“I visited two prisons, one in Guayaquil and one in Quito. The first one that I visited, 2,500 people in prison, 400 had received a trial. The other prison that my staff visited was a women's facility in Quito, and that is where the five American women were located. I met with about 10 Americans in Guayaquil, and I talked with them. They were husband and wife, and I talked with them about the various cases. And one of the things I have asked our State Department is to look into the status of each one of these cases and give us a report back on it and let us know what stages these are in. Now, their justice system has several stages. One is the arrest stage, probably the beginning and the end. But then the next stage should be some kind of a statement as to what one has been tried for. Then, one has one judge that decides whether one is guilty or innocent. And if one is found innocent, it automatically goes to like a Supreme Court, which is three judges; and then they rule on it. During this entire period that could take up to 4 years, you are in prison. There is no bail.”