Prisoner Justin John, who was detained since 2003 and awaiting his High Court trial, was freed yesterday by Justice William Ramlal after the state was unable to produce witnesses in support of its case.
John of South Rupununi was indicted on the capital offence for the May 18, 2003 killing of his brother, Richard John. He had declined to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter when his trial came up last week and yesterday the state opened and closed its case.
John and his brother had been drinking when a fight broke out resulting in his brother being fatally wounded. Prosecutor, Judith Gildharie-Mursalin called a police witness to the stand then closed the state’s case saying no other witness could be located. Defence counsel, Vidyanand Persaud then submitted that the state had no evidence to support the indictment; the judge agreed and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty setting John free.
Persaud, who appeared in association with attorney-at-law, Prabha Persaud-Kissoon also submitted that John’s constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time as guaranteed under the constitution was violated, pointing to the years his client spent in prison waiting for a jury trial. He noted that John was charged on May 27, 2003 and was committed to stand trial on June 5, 2008.
Persaud mentioned that throughout that time John’s case was called on March 8, 2005; March 7, 2006; March 9, 2008. He said evidence was gathered over that period from a few witnesses, but that John had been waiting for years for a trial. The lawyer also noted that John suffered due to the delays.
The judge addressed John in court yesterday and also agreed with the sentiments expressed by defence counsel. Ramlal also apologized to the freed prisoner for the long time he waited for a trial. This was conveyed to John through his attorney since John has trouble comprehending English.
John was among 23 prisoners who recently requested an early trial and he appeared before Justice George last month to appeal for an early date. John, 55, could not speak English at the time of his admission into the prison, but he now has a limited understanding of the language.
“I ain’t ever get visitors,” he told the judge after she questioned whether relatives visit him in the prison. Justice George said John’s rights as a prisoner awaiting a trial within a reasonable time had been violated and she ordered then that his indictment be presented in the June sessions of the Demerara Assizes. She had asked the state counsel to say why John’s case was never presented and was informed that a few attempts were made but failed because of the unavailability of witnesses as well as failed attempts to contact others. During the hearing Justice George had also noted that the criminal justice system is accountable to prisoners awaiting High Court trials and she declared that the time has come to fix what is broken in the system because citizens cannot continue to languish in prison for years.
