The rights of Indigenous people must be respected too

Dec 06, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,
The citizens of Region 9 are hereby requesting a judicial inquiry into the sentencing guidelines used by the Lethem Magistrate when presiding over court cases in the Region.
Over the years people has been appalled by the draconian sentences handed down to mostly Indigenous people for offences that carry less stiffer penalties in other jurisdictions.
Just last week a Lethem youth was sentenced to 3 years in prison for possession of 16 grams of cannabis which carry a street value of $8000 while at the same time at the Weldaad Magistrate’s Court a man was ordered to pay a fine of $40,000 for possession of 156 grams of the same drug and at the Georgetown’s Magistrates’ Court a man was given community service for possession of $31,500 worth of cannabis.
There are many Indigenous people languishing in prison for offences that carry non-custodial penalties elsewhere in the country, which is violating our human rights. It is also adding additional burden on poor families reeling from the COVID crises, who have to find huge sums of money to appeal these cases.
We are also calling on the relevant authority to make available legal representation for persons who cannot afford same who are mostly Indigenous so justice can be served and our human rights respected.

Yours faithfully
Patrick Fitzpatrick

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