Dear Editor,
I would like to bring to the attention of the public at large one aspect of the judicial system that has failed completely and despite efforts that I have made personally there seems to be no end to this atrocity.
There is an 18-year-old woman who hails from the West Coast of Demerara and was charged with the offence of simple larceny in June 2010. She appeared at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court, unrepresented, and bail was refused on the basis of the nature and gravity of the offence and the concern that if released she would flee the jurisdiction. She was remanded to prison with the next court date in August.
This may seem like a normal case, but what follows has made it very different, and is an example of injustice against an innocent person (innocent because she has not yet been tried). Let us call her Renuka. Renuka is in the prison at New Amsterdam, Berbice because there is no holding cell for remand female prisoners in the Greater Georgetown area, where there is everything else like a mediation centre, family court, estate duty officer and the like. In August Renuka was taken to court at Vreed-en-Hoop but she arrived about 5pm and so was brought back to New Amsterdam without having her day in court. Her next court date was November 12. She made it to court that day and was able to uplift statements and told to return to court on January 6 for the commencement of her PI. Bail was again refused.
On January 6, 2011 Renuka was again taken to Vreed-en-Hoop and again it was around the time most of us would have been having supper. She has been denied yet another day in court and brought back to New Amsterdam. She is still incarcerated.
I took the time to attend the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court on Friday February 4, to at least try to figure out what the real problem was. The Magistrate was accommodating enough to listen to me and had the case jacket brought up, but because the prosecutor did not have his file bail was again refused and I was told to make my bail application on February 18, the next court date.
I say it is an injustice because it is the responsibility of the police from the West Demerara to have this prisoner brought to court on time. Let us not fight too much with them because it is quite a distance to travel from New Amsterdam to Vreed-en-Hoop. Prisoners have to be at the New Amsterdam court and they are late. Very often the magistrate at Springlands has to adjourn and have lawyers also sit and wait for the prisoners to reach court from New Amsterdam. Why do I say it will not change? I have spoken to at least two Commanders in Berbice to have meetings held between lawyers and prison officials and police officials to address this critical issue, and to date that has not happened. It is obvious that this late arrival of prisoners in court is not a problem to them.
I wish to state further that there have been buildings set up to house different units of the courts in Georgetown and no one sees it necessary to build a facility to house female persons on remand.
Let us, in conclusion, look at Renuka’s case and ask ourselves why the long adjournments? Why the lack of concern about bringing this 18-year-old to court in time, and why refuse bail? The offence is a bailable one. The woman cannot afford a lawyer, so how could she afford to flee the jurisdiction? She has been incarcerated for almost 9 months and there is every indication that she may be in the prison for quite some time yet because she may not make her court date. If she had taken a guilty plea and been sentenced to a year she would have been out by now – a free person.
There are others in similar situations at the New Amsterdam Prison. Is there a lawyer in Demerara who would consider doing some pro bono work and offer this young woman a helping hand?
Yours faithfully,
Charrandass Persaud
