The criminal justice system is accountable to prisoners awaiting High Court trials, Justice Roxane George said yesterday, and she declared that the time has come to fix what is broken in the system because citizens cannot continue to languish in prison for years.
The lack of state resources to comprehensively reform the system is noted, she said, but emphasized that citizens are guaranteed certain fundamental rights under the Constitution, including the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time. She said stakeholders need to work together and “fix the system” because prisoners are waiting too long for trials.
Justice George articulated her frustrations with the system yesterday during jail delivery in the High Court saying that in a democratic society human rights are to be respected. People simply cannot be put away in jail for a considerable period of time without being afforded the right to a hearing, she said.
Prison records released yesterday disclosed that 132 inmates of the Georgetown Prison have been committed to stand trial in the High Court; some were incarcerated since 2003. Of that figure the breakdown lists 98 for murder including seven females; four for attempted murder; four for manslaughter; 21 for carnal knowledge; two for incest; one for armed robbery; one for rape and one for arson.
Prisoner Justin John was admitted into custody on May 27, 2003 after he was charged with murder; he was committed to stand trial in the High Court on June 5, 2008 and is still awaiting trial. John, who hails from South Rupununi, was among 23 prisoners who recently requested an early trial and yesterday he appeared before Justice George to appeal for an early date. The court was told that John, 55, could not speak English at the time of his admission into the prison, but he managed to communicate in English yesterday with the judge saying he now has a limited understanding of the language.
“I ain’t ever get visitors,” he told the judge after she questioned whether relatives visit him in the prison. Justice George said John represents what is broken in the system and she ordered that his indictment be presented in the June sessions of the Demerara Assizes which opens next month. She asked the state counsel present why John’s case was never presented and was informed that a few attempts were made but failed because of the unavailability of witnesses as well as failed attempts to contact others. The judge the concluded that his case must be called at the next session, regardless of what is happening with witnesses.
She said there has been a breakdown between the High Court and the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and the communication which formerly existed needed to be up and running again in the interest of the individuals who are in prison awaiting trials. “Jail delivery is meant to hold the criminal justice system accountable so that prisoners do not fall off the radar,” the judge added.
Trials in order of admissions
Justice George yesterday called on the DPP’s chambers to explore the idea of presenting indictments in the High Court based on when prisoners were admitted into the system, noting that in John’s case his matter would have to be presented because he stands out as the only committed prisoner in the system for seven years who is yet to have a High Court trial.
She said stakeholders need to work together and fix what is wrong with the criminal justice system if the rights of citizens are to be protected.
Senior Superintendent of Prisons, T Small, who was present in the court yesterday, was unable say how many prisoners were in the system facing Preliminary Inquiries (PIs). The judge commented that many PIs are dragging on at the lower court and taking years, and again she referred to John’s case; his PI took five years. She said irregular court hearings in the Rupununi could have been a huge factor in John’s case, but noted that it still took a long time before he was committed to stand trial.
Attorney-at-law Basil Williams, also present in court yesterday, said several of his clients have been victims of the system’s inability to offer citizens a fair trial within a reasonable time. He named Burt Lancaster, admitted in 2006; Nigel Forrester, admitted in 2005; Squince Mc Lennon, admitted in 2004; Kensie Glasgow, admitted in 2005 and Dexter Headley admitted in 2006. Williams argued that the system has been unfair to his clients in addition to others like John, and he said the time has come for the system to work in a fair manner.
Williams hailed the specific orders which Justice George made in relation to several prisoners yesterday saying the judge made a critical and timely ruling with respect to prisoners who are languishing in jail. He said too that the court was unable to have a true picture of what is happening because of the lack of information provided on the number of prisoners in the system who are still facing PIs.
Attorney-at-law Hukumchand was also in court yesterday petitioning for his clients to have early trials. He said they have also been sitting in prison for years waiting for the court to grant them a hearing. He named Peter Ray Kassim admitted in 2005 and Chandrapaul Chatram admitted in 2007.
Justice George also inquired about prisoner Aubrey Crawford who was admitted in 2004 on a carnal knowledge charge. Crawford was committed to stand trial that same year, but his matter is yet to come up for hearing. The state counsel were unable to provide an answer saying they were not briefed on Crawford’s case.
When given the opportunity to speak the 58-year-old Crawford told the court that he has been unable to raise the $100,000 bail which he was granted several years ago. He said he was also unable to afford the services of an attorney. “I don’t have any money and I don’t see my family either,” he told Justice George. The judge then ordered that his indictment also be presented at the next session in June.
