The mentally ill young man who allegedly set fire to the Georgetown Public Hospital Observation Ward, was remanded to prison yesterday when he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Leonard Nelson
Twenty-year-old Leonard Nelson of Z 23106 Tucville, was charged yesterday with arson, robbery and unlawfully and maliciously assaulting and wounding several individuals.
The prosecution stated that on August 13 at around 03:45 hours, as Nelson was being taken into the ward for his routine checkup he escaped from the attendants, lit a match on his way out of the ward and threw it onto a few articles which were immediately set ablaze. Nelson is also accused of snatching a gold chain worth $25,000 from Sharon Harry while he was escaping.
He also was alleged to have assaulted Carl Santiago and Clive Knights and unlawfully and maliciously assaulted and wounded Glendon Farley. The accused was afterwards caught and arrested where the gold chain and a box of matches allegedly used to start the fire were found in his possession. Dr Harry carried out an examination of the accused and found he was mentally fit on the day in question.
Attorney-at-law Lesley Sobers stated that his client, Nelson, was not fit to plead because of his mental disposition and that he should be acquitted of the charges and taken to the hospital for a mental evaluation. He afterwards applied for bail.
However, Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry who presided over the case, after questioning Nelson, deemed him fit to plead since he knew who he was, where he lived and his mother’s name and occupation.
Subsequently, Nelson pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The application for bail was refused and the accused was remanded. He was ordered to appear back in Court 1 on September 11.
It seems to me that Leonard Nelson has mental problems. If so, then he should be institutionalized but certainly not imprisoned in the regular prison facility, unless it is equipped to offer the treatment he needs.
To be declared mentally capable by the presiding magistrate because Leonard knows his name, where he lives, his mother’s name and work place address does not reflect sound judgment on the part of the magistrate. Are these the criteria by which someone is declared mentally fit to stand trial?
Dr. Harry’s assessment that the “accused (was) found he was mentally fit on the day in question” is also strange and suggests that Leonard is sometimes not in control of all his faculties all the time. It also begs the question as to at what time is someone declared mentally challenged… Leonard unstable behavior is certainly a case for thorough mental evaluation before rushing to judgment.
i agree with you deflect , why was he put in the mental ward in the first place ?
Why don’t you go to Guyana to check him out Mattlock?
It is a shame that Guyana has no legislation to protect people with mental health and developmental disability issues – they are thrown in with the general population, there is no supportive care or treatments available e.g counseling, medications etc. and worst of all – the facilities where these special populations are housed are not fit for even animals to occupy. When are the guyanese people going to understand that we are as developed as the supports we are providing for the most marginalized and weakest members of our population. Where has our conscience on the human rights and insistence on a quality of life for all our people gone?? or is it that we do not have one?? and most important what are the advocates. doctors and clinicians etc. doing other than serving in a broken system??
Kindly get your facts correct. I never applied for bail for the mentally ill man, my client, accused of Arson ref. Georgetown Hospital Observation Ward. Bail was never an issue. Medical treatment and a declaration that he was unfit to plead and stand trial were my applications not for bail so bail was never refused. The accused was straightaway remanded.
Leslie Sobers
Attorney-at-Law
For the Defendant
Hey Leslie
Should you be taking this up with the SN Editor?
You tell them Leslie, get their facts straight and they’re suppose to be reporters.
When an error in reporting is pointed out, why does SN not correct it immediately online???? It can’t be that difficult.
What do you expect from a spine less judiciary.A mentally challenged man will now languish in prison.Only in Guyana.
on August 21st, 2008 6. 43 pm
Nelson is in nead of mental treatment, he is mad or he was not in
that mental ward to begin with.
Nelson should be, institutionalized, not in prisoned.
it seems to me every one is going to prison, the madman too
children that don,t have good careing, the hungry man, the very poor,
the goverment of guyana should look after the people right,s.
the poor people and the sick one get put in prison
the people of guyana nead a lot of help
Mr presedent that is why you are there to look after the right,s
of the people of guyana. the very sick one too.
i love guyana and the people of guyana.
a magistrate is not the competent authority to evaluate Mr Nelson and it is very sad that mental health is being ignored in guyana.I think this young man should be institutionalised and treated but,instead he is placed in prison .
WHY WAS MY COMMENT REBUTTED
What a horrible story. About the closest I can come to imagining how a hospital could end up with that policy is to wonder if a large portion of their mental illness patients are the mentally ill homeless.I don’t understand why everyone is treating Leonard Nelson like an animal. The way the system is treating him is neither healty nor with care, nor professional.
Nelson would never send to jail if theMagistrate had some dignity and respected the mentally ill.
these officals are puting this suspect in further tarment…his condidation is already one he has to comply with daily. What are they doing to make life easier for him and his mental illness. Now he is suspected of a criminal offence, as if there is no way to deal with mental suspects…better than that of prison. I sadden to learn of that. Please, to who it may concern address this mishap of justice and the way suspects are treated base on they condition…IM WEEPING IN SIDE.
There are times where you can read and learn, I have a medical background and the blogger “deflect” is expressing a logical point. Before you get critical show commonsense.
I totally agree with u Indira, its amaazing how issues that are so widely accepted (namely the state of those mentally challenged) is totally discarded in our Courts. I would really like to know when Her worship Priya Sewanarine-Beharry graduated as a psychiatrist, thereby receiving the necessary qualifications needed to determine the soundness of mind of one mentall ill, its just amazing the manner in which out dear country operates theses days.