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RCC to assist two more juvenile murder accused

May 10, 2018 News

A number of juveniles before the courts on criminal charges have not acquired legal representation.
This may result in them spending long periods in state detention.
Quite a few would outgrow these detention centers built for juveniles and would be sent to the Timehri, Camp Street or Lusignan Prisons, depending on the nature of the crime, said the Rights of the Child Commission.
A case that involved Ian Henry, now 19 years old, gave a clear example of what transpires.
Henry, a hinterland youth, was charged for murder at the age of 13, but for several reasons, his matter was postponed causing him to outgrow Juvenile Detention Centers.
Henry was sent to the Camp Street Prison and after the 2016 prison unrest, he was taken to the Timehri Prison where he stayed until his release last month.
After the RCC intervened, Henry was freed when the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) found that there was not enough evidence to proceed with the case, hence the case was nolle prosequi.
There are two other cases of murder involving juveniles that have been brought to the RCC’s attention. These cases involve two boys, ages 14 and 15.
A recent Preliminary Inquiry (PI) was done into one of the murders and the 14-year-old will now stand trial at the High Court before a judge and jury.
The other case involving the 15-year-old is similar to Ian Henry’s.
CEO of the RCC, Amar Panday, said that his institution became aware while he was conducting a youth empowerment workshops there in 2015, that a lot of the youths at the Sophia Holding Center were not appointed legal representation by the state.
He said that his team recognised that (juvenile) rights were being violated and as such the RCC stepped in.
He said that his team approached the United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for funding and was given $1M which was given to the Georgetown Legal Aid Clinic to provide representation for the youths.
Investigative officer at the RCC, Andre Gonsalves, said that after receiving funding, the programme commenced in December 2015.
He said that $850,000 was used to provide legal representation for 250 child defendants during the period January 2015 to July 2017.
Some of these cases include simple larceny, assault and wandering.
He said that UNICEF was impressed with the number of children that received help with the $850,000 and decided to donate more money.
On Tuesday, Panday explained that the money that was provided by UNICEF to deal with these cases will soon expire.
He added that there is need for a permanent mechanism to be put in place and as such, the Commission has approached the Ministry of Public Security to discuss having something permanent in place.
He said that the issue of children not having legal representation can revert to its previous state if nothing is done.
Further, he said that it is the failure of the respective adults when errant children come into contact with the law. Some of the cases, he explained, are as a result of abuse in the home and neglect.
“It’s a failure on our part; a failure on the respective sector to deliver on their respective mandates. This is why we can’t condemn the children for falling victim to these kinds of behavior,” Panday said.
He said that while his team would go into these centers, parents would also call the RCC seeking help for legal representation. He is also encouraging that parents or guardians who may need assistance to retain legal representation reach out to the RCC where the necessary help will be given.

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