A Bermudian man held in a Jamaican prison had to be moved into isolation after reports of his death were reported on an Island radio station, The Royal Gazette has learned.

And now Carlton (Butch) Minors is back home, he is being stopped in the street by people who thought the ZBM news bulletin earlier this month reporting his death at the hands of Jamaican Police was correct.

“Dead man walking, they say to me,” said the 35-year-old, who was erroneously described as dead in two separate newscasts on November 13.

“A lot of people must have heard it, because a lot of people know about it and talk to me.”

Mr. Minors and his father of the same name were being held in a Jamaican prison awaiting deportation after an over-stay - they had been in the country for seven months working on a chicken farm and “just hanging out”.

But inquiries from Bermudian media to the Jamaican authorities to check the story of his demise had caused some concern at the corrections facilities, causing Mr. Minors and his father to be moved away from other prisoners for their own protection.

Then he received a phone call from his aunt Dina Tucker to check that he was still alive, despite what was being broadcast on the radio.

“I was pretty shook up when she told me,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“She said that that were reports I had been shot in the head after escaping custody - but nothing had happened. I was okay.

“I got pretty worried for my mother though, that's not the sort of news any family wants to hear. It's pretty cold that it got broadcast in that way.

“Now I am back, I am just spending some time with my mother and making sure she is okay. It was pretty emotional when I came back here, especially with all that has gone on.”

Although Mr. Minors' aunt had said they are considering suing the Bermuda Broadcasting Corporation over the story, Mr. Minors would not comment directly stating it was a “private matter for the family”.

After hearing the news on the radio a tearful Twina Minors, Carlton's mother, told The Royal Gazette at the time: “I am very devastated. They should be punished for this. It is cold. You don't do that sort of thing to people. It is very unfair.When I heard I went right off the deep end. Whatever he has done, he is my pride and joy and I love him.

“I could have had a heart attack.”

Mr. Minors, who flew back to Bermuda last week, said that conditions in the Jamaican lock-up were atrocious and that he was concerned he may not survive his time there which began in July.

“There were times when I didn't think I would make it,” he added.

“It was pretty rough in there. You had to ‘walk straight', there were a lot of guys taking beatings. It was sick. I just want to say I am glad to be back in Bermuda and be able to look in the mirror and see me.”