By Jeff Trotman
The compensation recommended for the families of the three Linden men shot and killed by police on July 18 last year failed to acknowledge the men’s constitutional right to life, according to AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes, who says the government is not acting to correct this injustice.
“Where the state takes your life wrongfully, they’ve breached … your constitutional right – and that is where the Commission did not involve a single cent … for right to life,” Hughes said during a presentation on the Commission of Inquiry’s findings as part of an AFC consultative meeting in Linden on Saturday.
Hughes was the attorney representing the relatives of Ron Somerset, 18, Shemroy Bouyea, 24, and Allan Lewis, 46, who were the three men killed. In the report on its findings and recommendations, the Commission found the police responsible for their deaths but noted that the discharge of ammunition was justified as the police were confronted by a hostile crowd and that there was no clear intention to kill or injure anyone.
The Commission recommended compensation of $3 million to Bouyea’s estate, $3 million to Lewis’ estate and $2 million to Somerset’s estate, after analyzing their contributions in terms of earnings made to their families. Those sums have been severely criticised as being inadequate.
Hughes said on Saturday that normally in a civil action when death occurs, such as in an accident, the relatives in claiming for compensation for the accidental death of the deceased would receive compensation based on the worth of the deceased, which would be calculated based on the individual’s annual earnings multiplied by the number of years that person was likely to work until retirement.
He added that if the individual was unemployed and did not have any earnings, that individual would get zero.
He, however, stated that there is a clause in the constitution that embraces the right to life and in this context, the death of the three men should no longer be seen as a civil action but a constitutional one that covers all Guyanese, rich and poor.
He reiterated that the Commission found that the police was responsible for the deaths of the citizens and the state took away the right to life of those citizens without just cause but added that not a single cent was awarded on that front.
“When they shot down those three people on 18 July (2012), their constitutional right to life was worth zero. That is the outrage of that award and that is why I said… the awards were outrageously low. It’s like if they hang the wrong man… His right to life is taken away from him. His estate is entitled to millions of dollars for the mistake made by the state,” he argued. “So, the right to life for those three Lindeners that lost their lives, they got zero points,” he added.
Hughes also noted that he wrote to the President after the awards were announced, pointing out that the Commissioners overlooked “the right to life” of the three deceased and requesting that the President vary the awards upward.
However, he said he received a response from the Attorney General Anil Nandlall indicated that government would stand by the Commission’s recommendations. “I know they say I’m controversial and … I’m radical …. I’m sorry, if you live in a country where the government tells you they can take your life and reimburse how they want, you need to wake up and think about that,” he added.
