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Supreme Court ruling should help others languishing in prison without trial - attorney

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Attorney John Clarke and Pamela Green, the niece of George Williams
 
Attorney-at-law John Clarke says Thursday's Supreme Court ruling in favour of George Williams, the mentally ill man who spent 50 years in custody without a trial, could provide guidance for over 80 others in similar situations. 
 
Mr. Williams was awarded $120 million in damages for the decades he spent behind bars without ever facing a judge. 
 
Mr. Clarke, who found the wrongful imprisonment lawsuit on behalf of Mr. Williams, described the judgment as significant. 
 
"Before, I was unable to find a single judgment in which the court had examined the issue of a person who is unfit to plea in Jamaica, the constitutionality of this arrangement under which they are held and what if any damages is appropriate. So this will provide some guidance in the future for the more than - from our records - eighty persons who had a similar situation to George, in relation to how their matter should be dealt with by the state," he asserted.   
 
Mr. Clarke said he hopes that the judgment will also serve as a teachable moment for the relevant state organisations who should review how people in a similar position to Mr. Williams are treated. 
 
"No amount of monetary compensation, whether it's $100 million or $300 million, can give back George Williams the 50 years that he has lost.... So one hopes that for the other persons...in a similar situation, that the state will ensure that there is periodic review and that there is an avenue for those persons to be released if they cannot be tried in a reasonable time," said the attorney, who was a guest Thursday on Radio Jamaica's current affairs programme Beyond the Headlines.
 
Supreme Court judge Justice Sonya Wint-Blair declared that Mr. Williams' right to due process and a fair hearing by the independent and an impartial court within a reasonable time were breached by the failure of state organs to conduct periodic reviews of his incarceration to determine whether he had recovered his mental health to be fit to enter a plea and stand trial. 
 
Mr. Williams' plight came to light following the release of a 2020 report by the Independent Commission of Investigations. 
 
The report revealed that he was one of seven mentally ill men who had each spent at least a 40 years in prison awaiting a trial. 
 
The government had offered to pay Mr. Williams $6 million, but this was rejected by his family. 
 
In the meantime, Pamela Green, the neice of Mr. Williams, said justice was served. She thanked attorneys John Clarke, Isat Buchanan and human rights group Stand Up For Jamaica for fighting on the family's behalf, noting that "we have come to some form of closure, so we are really grateful for this moment". 
 


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