Dear Editor,
Larry John Adams, is a 20-year old former student of School of the Nations. On February 22, Georgetown Magistrate Leron Daly sentenced him to three years in jail as well as imposed on him a $30,000 fine, after pleading guilty to possession of eight ecstasy pills. The police alleged Adams possessed the pills for trafficking. Adams in turn told the Magistrate the pills were for his own use. In my view, it is the quantity possessed that matters in the totality of circumstances, not the alleged purpose. Moreover, a seller would likely possess in excess of eight pills. Consequently, charging someone with trafficking requires more evidence than mere possession of the illicit substance. It must be established that the defendant was involved in the sale, transport or importation of said substance, or intended to sell or deliver it.
Admittedly, I do not know the police evidence. Reportage on the case states that Adams was arrested while riding a motorcycle in the vicinity of Princes Street when he was stopped by police officers conducting “investigations.” This stop allegedly resulted in a search and his arrest. We do not know if this stop and/or search was lawful. We do not know if Adams was represented by counsel. All we know is a twenty year old student was sentenced to three years in jail for riding around Georgetown with eight ecstasy pills.
The sentence could be mandatory in light of his guilty plea, but was avoidable. The Magistrate could have entered a not guilty plea and adjourned the matter for another date by which time young Adams would have been properly counseled. We don’t know all of the factors; mitigating or aggravating. Nevertheless, I strongly condemn this sentence. It is draconian, outrageous, unjust and repugnant to the principles of fundamental fairness.
I’m not sure if this magistrate ordered a probation report for this youngster. Such inquiry would have delved into the socioeconomic circumstances of his life. It would have ascertained whether he was a trafficker and why; whether the pills were for entertainment or was a function of acquired behaviour learnt through socialization.
54 % of Guyana’s population is below age 40. The median age is 26. We cannot continue destroying the lives of our young people by saddling them with unnecessary criminal sentences whenever they make mistakes by committing minor offences; particularly drug offences. Western countries have reversed course and are addressing drug offences involving possession and use, as a health crisis rather than a criminal justice mandate. It is time that Guyana adopts this sensible approach.
I advocate for the APNU+AFC coalition government of Guyana to immediately commence the process to decriminalize the possession and use of small amounts of narcotics and psychoactive drugs. Concomitantly I call for the coalition government to pass a law to expunge all misdemeanor drug convictions from the record of young people and other Guyanese. We have a country to develop, a destiny to mold and generations of young people to educate and train to become leaders. We cannot accomplish our development agenda as a nation by criminalizing our youth. They are our future! I pray that one of our kind hearted, young Attorneys will petition the Guyana Court of Appeal to set aside Larry John Adams’ conviction, and set him free.
Yours faithfully,
Rickford Burke
President
Caribbean Guyana Institute for
Democracy