JFJ welcomes guilty verdict for cops in Mario Deane case

 

Executive Director of human rights lobby group, Jamaicans for Justice, Mickel Jackson, has welcomed the guilty verdict in the Mario Deane trial on Thursday, but says closer attention should be paid to the issues to prevent similar incidents.

 

"When we tracked the case, I believe in at least 18 instances we saw the matter could not even commence trial because there were several issues - the low juror turnout, you're aware of that. There were some administrative challenges as well that ought not to have happened. How do we deal with some of these systemic failures in the system?" she questioned. 

 

Meanwhile, Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn explained the steps in the successful prosecution of the case.

 

"The gathering of the evidence by INDECOM (The Independent Commission of Investigations), my prosecutors with their experience. May I say that the judge was a very senior and experienced judge, because misconduct in public office, perverting the course of justice and even gross negligence, manslaughter, are not run of the mill offences that you would find being done that often in the circuit court before a jury," she noted.

 

Ms. Llewellyn and Ms. Jackson were both speaking Thursday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines.

 

Corporal Elaine Stewart and District constables Marlon Grant and Juliana Clevon were found guilty on all counts, including manslaughter and misconduct in a public office. 

 

Corporal Stewart was found guilty on an additional count of intent to pervert the course of justice. 

 

Mario Deane died on August 6, 2014, three days after he was beaten by other prisoners at the Barnett Street Police lock-up in St. James.

 

He had been arrested by the police for having a ganja spliff.