Courts working hard on inquests

-Magistrate Robertson

The public perception that inquests are not being held in magisterial districts across the country is not a fair one, since a string of them have been completed within the past year and several more are ongoing, according to Chief Magistrate (ag) Melissa Robertson.

Inquests had for years been infrequently held and the backlog had ballooned but a new approach was adopted in 2006, Robertson said. She noted in an interview with Stabroek News that magistrates were told to, “work a bit more assiduously with respect to inquests and reduce the build-up”.

Since 2002 116 inquests have been concluded with a large amount being heard at the Wales Magistrate’s Court where the Acting Chief Magistrate had presided for an extensive period. The majority of those cases had involved accidents.

Prior to 2006 there was a reported backlog of close to 200 inquests in the system, some dating back years, underlining an issue of critical concern in the judiciary. The infrequent manner in which inquests were held prior to 2006 had also come under intense public scrutiny given the number of unnatural deaths that had been recorded within recent years.

Magistrate Robertson pointed to the insufficient number of sitting magistrates, stating that the shortage has impacted on the level of work within the magisterial district; underscoring the need for new appointments. Currently one magistrate within the Georgetown Magisterial District has been assigned inquests- Magistrate Elizabeth McLennan.

With some inquests taking as much as eight years before there is a hearing, she said, the workload of those sitting on the bench has to be considered, particularly within the context of new criminal matters that can often spill over into fifty or more in a single day. Additionally, there are the civil litigations and preliminary inquiries that are listed among priorities in the system.

“It is not that magistrates are demoting inquests and are barely conducting any,  it is a matter of demanding schedules and what they can sometimes be faced with on a given day, but inquests are being carried out”, she stated.

The Acting Chief Magis-trate acknowledged that since she left the Wales district inquests have not been held with the same frequency, adding that the duties at the Chief Magistrate’s court are demanding.

“It is sometimes simply a matter of time”, she noted, in reference to when inquests are held in any court.
When asked about two notable cases –  those of Donna Herod who was shot during a confrontation between the joint services and gunmen in Buxton and Travis Parks who was shot by a MMC guard –  Magistrate Robertson said she had no information on either case. However, she said was aware of the Parks matter, but pointed out that the question is better directed to the Clerk of Court, since any files that are sent would go to that office.
Stabroek News was unable to make contact with the Clerk of Court and calls to the office were not returned.

Magistrate Robertson pointed out that when an order is made for an inquest it is for the file to get to the court and for the police to locate witnesses, among other things. She stated that in some instances only two witnesses have testified at inquests since they were unable to track persons down.

Earlier this year numerous calls were sounded for inquests to be held in the death of Buxtonian Herod, who was killed on September 4, 2007 during an exchange between the police and gunmen in the East Coast Demerara village, and also in the death of  Parks who was fatally shot in his back on Sunday, April 27 at Tiger Bay,  by an MMC Security Force guard after being asked about a gold chain, which he reportedly denied knowing anything about.

Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority, Cecil Kennard had recommended that a coroner’s inquest be speedily held into Herod’s killing. In his recommendation he urged DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack that in view of the public interest in the matter then Chief Justice Carl Singh should be approached to take urgent steps to appoint a magistrate to hear the case as early as possible.

In Parks’ case the Director of Public Prosecutions has ordered that an inquest be held in the matter, and it is now a matter for the court to initiate.
The death of Ramesh Sawh while in custody at the Enmore lock-ups had also sparked much interest and it was only after his lawyer, Anil Nandlall approached the High Court that an inquest was ordered.

Concluded inquests
In 2007 a jury found policeman, Suraj Singh criminally liable for the death of Padmini Seecharan, who was found dead in her Patentia, West Bank Demerara home on September 11, 2000. Seecharan was found hanging in her bedroom but the jury found that the position in which she was found disputed reports that it was a suicide- the cloth around her neck was tied to the doorknob. The position in which she was found also pointed to the involvement of another person. At the time of her death, Seecharan was living with Singh.

Also, that same year a jury at Wales found Mark Holder criminally culpable in the death of little Yoshani Savory. The child was killed on September 19, 1998 when she was struck down on the western half of the Demerara Harbour Bridge by Holder who was riding a motorcycle. Savory died as a result of a fractured skull. When the accident occurred, she was crossing the road. The jury found that Holder was reckless and careless on the day in question.

An inquest was also held at Wales to determine if anyone was responsible for the death of Rajendra Lall, who had died by drowning. His body was found at the Conservancy at Canal No 1 on March 12, 2000 but the jury found that no one was criminally liable, concluding that he had fallen into the conservancy.

Leon Venezuela’s death also came up at an inquest at Wales and again, the jury found that no one was criminally liable. He died following an accident from multiple injuries; he was struck down. But during the inquest the jury was told that Venezuela had been drinking on March 12, 2002 with friends and that he had attempted to cross the road while intoxicated.

An inquest was also held in the death of Alan Doorsammy who had died by drowning after his car went off the road at La Grange, West Bank Demerara. A police road block had been set up in the area on the morning of April 2, 2000 and Doorsammy upon spotting the officers decided to divert in an attempt to avoid any delays. He ended up off the road and into a canal. No one was found criminally liable for his death.

No one was found responsible in the case of Anna Marie Seecharan who died after she was struck down at West Coast Demerara on October 4, 2000. She was picked up from school by a minor in a taxi and upon arriving home disembarked. But while the other person stayed behind to pay the taxi driver she decided to run across the road and was struck down and killed.

The majority of the inquests was held at Wales and concluded in 2007. In the city, there was one known case- Terrence Ramgass. A police officer, Orin Johnson had been blamed for his death following an accident at East La Penitence. But the jury at the inquest found that no one was criminally liable. They concluded that Ramgass had been under tremendous stress following the death of a relative at the time of the collision between the two men.