Jail for a spent shell: We are heading for another bloody mayhem

Feb 15, 2018 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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When the daughter of deceased legal luminary and former Attorney-General, Doodnauth Singh,   took the British Government to court, asking for a ruling that Parliament must approve BREXIT and the judges agreed, sections of the British press who didn’t like the decision made front page comments condemnatory of the judges’ ruling. Throughout the world the media and governmental leaders voice their opinion on judges’ decisions if they find that such rulings are extraordinarily out of sync with traditions and norms.
I can recall a few years earlier that the moribund Guyana Human Rights Association found its voice after decades of invisibility and harshly condemned Judge Insanally for a decision that favoured a gold miner over an Amerindian community. When society speaks out against strange court decisions, it creates a watchdog culture that makes the agent under criticism more careful about being cavalier with his/her decision.
Yesterday I wrote about the time when as a lecturer, I took the university to court for not bringing the law applications before the statutory meetings of the Board of Social Sciences. I won and since that year, every application came before the board for approval.
Magistrate Faith McGusty made a decision on Tuesday that is simply unacceptable in the modern world, and the government, media and civil society should intervene. And by civil society, I include the law department at UG, the Bar Association, the Women Lawyers’ Association.
McGusty sentenced an Amerindian man to two years for possession of a spent shell. Even if the law allows for such a charge, a spent shell cannot do any serious bodily harm because it is a dead bullet that cannot be reused, hence the term “spent.”
Every day, including up to yesterday morning on the seawall, I see derelict persons with old cutlasses in their hands. An old cutlass or an old screwdriver can do far more harm to the human body than a spent shell. Is it possible that McGusty does not know what a spent shell is? You do not jail an accused for two years for a spent shell. Even if it was a six weeks incarceration it might have escaped societal attention. I believe nowhere in the world would a court give an accused two years for a used bullet.
I say unapologetically that this magistrate should be condemned for that cruel sentence. I also will go out on a limb and say we should investigate the ideological beliefs of the magistrate because of the ethnicity of the accused. In this context, Amerindian groups need to show concern. The Bar Association and the Women Lawyers’ Association should petition the higher court for bail.
Last week Jason Abdulla was granted bail by the Court of Appeal Judge, Dawn Gregory for his assault on me – having thrown a miasmic substance on me. If I was called to testify in the bail application, I would have asked that he be released. When he, Kwame McCoy and Shawn Hinds made their first court appearance, Magistrate Latchman asked my opinion, and I voiced concern about denial of bail. My remarks were carried in this newspaper. On charges like these I do not believe accused should spend a long time on remand.
I am of the unshakeable belief that a higher court is going to vary that sentence. An appeal must be lodged immediately. I now turn my attention to the Minister whose portfolio includes the prison and police – Khemraj Ramjattan. He faced a crescendo of denunciations after the mayhem at the two prisons. His friend, Chris Ram used unflattering language to call for his resignation. There were many such similar demands.  This minister was quoted as saying that his government needs to look at certain types of incarceration for certain types of crime.
I am calling on the Minister and the President (not the Prime Minister who is ill and should not be burdened with criticism at this time) to reject this sentence by Magistrate McGusty. It is unbelievably cruel. Irrational (I use that word unapologetically) sentences like these breed violence in the prison. Prison riots can have horrible consequences for the entire society. Escaped prisoners kill drivers when they steal their vehicles. They invade homes and kill occupants. A taxi driver was miraculously saved during the last jailbreak.
I don’t expect civil society to generate a debate over this harsh magisterial decision. Civil society is non-existent, and some who Guyanese are busy looking for their fifteen minutes of fame, so Exxon is an obsession with them. I also don’t expect the lawyers to say a word or two. They aren’t looking for fame, but for big bucks.

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