JFJ laments 'lenient' sentences for cops in Mario Deane case

 

Human rights lobby group Jamaicans for Justice has described as lenient, the Westmoreland Circuit Court's decision to impose suspended sentences on two of the three cops convicted for the beating death of Mario Deane. 

 

In a statement posted to its Instagram page on Thursday, JFJ said these lenient outcomes risk reinforcing a culture of impunity as well as potentially undermining public trust in the justice system's commitment to holding state actors accountable. 

 

Speaking Friday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106 FM, JFJ's Executive Director Mickel Jackson pointed out that the sentencing guidelines for manslaughter typically range from three to 15 years. 

 

Ms. Jackson said she was hoping that the judge would have accepted the recommendation by prosecutors for a starting point closer to the higher end of the range before adjustments for aggravating and mitigating factors, given the gravity of the cops' negligence in causing Deane's death.

 

"So the prosecutors had recommended that the starting point for the sentence would begin at 10 years. And then when we look at some of the mitigating factors that the court likely would have considered, and you heard them as the judge went through great pains to explain them in court - the good character of the officers, whether or not they acted in similar fashion to other inmates and so on. So we had anticipated and we think for justice to be realised, at least a year would have been served by the two officers. So we are disappointed that there is no immediate jail time being served because you don't want to send a signal to the public that there is a lack of accountability," she reasoned. 

 

The cops, Corporal Elaine Stewart along with district constables Marlon Grant and Juliana Clevon were found guilty of manslaughter and misconduct in public office at the end of their trial in May. 

 

They were sentenced in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on Tuesday by Justice Courtney Daye.

 

Stewart was sentenced to five years in prison for the manslaughter conviction and one year for the misconduct in public office conviction.

 

She has been released on bail pending an appeal.

 

Grant and Clevon were given suspended sentences.

 

A suspended sentence means the offenders will serve no prison time if they do not commit another offence during the period of suspension.

 

Meanwhile, Ms. Jackson has characterised the convictions of manslaughter by gross negligence and misconduct in a public office as a rare achievement in Jamaica where prosecutions of this nature are uncommon due to complex legal nuances.

 

"We welcome the fact that a conviction was secured in this particular case because, as you are aware, to see manslaughter by gross negligence being successfully prosecuted, there are not many cases that we can think of within this particular context. You can think about medical negligence, for example, but in terms of gross negligence due to the state's failure to fulfill their duty to someone who is in custody, then I think we have to acknowledge that particular context," she conceded.