Micobie man who spent almost 10 years in jail was not indicted – DPP

…after Judge finds man’s constitutional rights violated

A Micobie man who was on Friday freed after languishing in jail for almost 10 years, was not indicted for the murder charge he was facing.

Raymond Jones, 58, an Indigenous man of Micobie village, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), was remanded to prison on December 28, 2012 for the murder of Gary Joseph, 33, who was shot with a “bow and arrow” sometime between December 26 and December 27, 2012, while the men were imbibing at a shop.

The man was committed to stand trial on October 15, 2014 at the Essequibo High Court following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) in the Magistrate’s Court. However, his case was never called up since, thus Raymond remained incarcerated until he was freed on Friday.
High Court Judge, Justice Sandil Kissoon found that the man’s constitutional right to trial in a reasonable time was violated by the State.
But in a statement on Saturday, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) disclosed that there was no indictment for Jones.
“The DPP did not prefer an Indictment against Raymond Jones and there was no Indictment against Raymond Jones and so the Judge did not quash an indictment,” the DPP Chambers said.
According to the DPP, the Chamber had written to the Magistrate on three occasions – in 2015, October 2020 and recently in January 2021 – for the additional evidence to be forwarded for an indictment to be preferred.
Moreover, the DPP had remitted the case to the Magistrate’s Court for the presiding Magistrate to correct what the chambers said were “several material irregularities and/or omissions”.
But this was never done nor was the additional evidence ever forwarded as requested by the DPP.
On Friday, Justice Kissoon lamented on the fact that the Magistrate is yet to comply with the DPP’s directive.
In fact, the High Court Judge frowned upon the state of affairs in Guyana’s criminal justice system, particularly the issue of accused persons languishing in jail for lengthy periods on remand, in this case nearly 10 years, before they are afforded a trial.

Agony
While delivering his ruling in the State vs Jones Raymond on Friday, the Judge pointed out that delays in the administration of justice cannot be tolerated, as a delay constitutes a violation of one’s constitutional rights.
The Judge disclosed that Raymond’s unfortunate circumstances were brought to his attention by the Superintendent of Prison.
As for Raymond, who wanted to end his “agony”, the Judge said that the man opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter, as he saw this as his only way out of prison.
The Judge recalled that, in 2021, he had given directions for the accused to be taken before the Essequibo Criminal Assizes, for his plea to be taken and a sentence to be imposed. Notwithstanding those directions, Justice Kissoon added, the accused was before him again.
Come December 2022, he pointed out, the time that the accused would have spent on remand would add up to 10 calendar years, which equates to 15 prison years. Having regard to the foregoing, Justice Kissoon held that “a grave tragedy, the unthinkable, has occurred in relation to Jones Raymond without compassion, conscious and judicial discretion.”
In the circumstances, Justice Kissoon has permanently stayed all criminal proceedings against Raymond, ordering that he be released from prison immediately. In so doing, he ruled that the stay was warranted in the “exceptional circumstances” of this case: where there has been an undue and inexcusable delay without cause on the part of the State; when Raymond, who is clothed with the presumption of innocence, despite his requests and representation by him to have his matter heard, has had his request to plead denied; and where his case has still not been tried, despite previous orders for his case to be heard.
In the end, the Amerindian Affairs Ministry, or any other institution, has been ordered to assist Raymond financially or otherwise, to ensure that he meets home safely.

Cannot be condoned
Referencing several scholarly legal articles and case laws on access to justice, Justice Sandil Kissoon declared that Raymond’s fundamental right to a fair trial within a reasonable time, as guaranteed by Article 144 of the Constitution, has been violated, and continues to be violated, due to the inordinate period he has spent in pre-trial detention.
Justice Kissoon expressed that he is unable to contemplate how “we in the criminal justice system arrived at this juncture in 2022…a citizen can serve the equivalent of a few months short of a 15-year sentence on remand, and this is somehow acceptable in the system that prevails.”
He emphasised that this laxity cannot, and should not, be condoned, and it should not be tolerated when the liberty of a citizen has been, and continues to be, wantonly violated with no effort to remedy these circumstances.
“To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice,” said Justice Kissoon as he quoted from Clause 40 of the Charter of the Magna Carta.
Attorney-at-Law Teriq Mohammed appeared for Raymond, while State Counsel Muntaz Ali appeared for the prosecution.