The main opposition PNCR is upset at the delay of the Travis Parks inquest, saying it is threatening the rule of law.
PNCR MP Aubrey Norton told reporters at the party’s weekly press briefing that “continued delay in bringing closure to this matter will only cause further grief and agony to the family of this young man… and undermine the rule of law and order in Guyana.” Norton made the comment in light of the charges laid yesterday against two members of the prison service for the manslaughter of Edwin Niles.
Parks, 22, was a minibus conductor who was fatally shot on Sunday, April 27 at Tiger Bay. It is alleged that the shooter was an MMC security guard, who was interrogating Parks about a stolen gold chain. After almost two months, the Director of Public Prosecutions ordered that an inquest be held into Parks’ death.
According to residents of Tiger Bay, Parks was shot in the back by a member of an MMC security detail as he was being led to one of the firm’s vehicle. They said after Parks was shot, the men picked up the bullet casing and got into the vehicle and drove away despite pleas for them to take him to the hospital. Parks was eventually transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he died while receiving treatment. The guard who allegedly fired the fatal shot had been detained by police but was later released on station bail.
