Pensioner freed after 9 years on remand awaiting trial trying to adjust to life

…says prison was punishment, mulls suing State

By Feona Morrison

A soft-spoken 68-year-old Jones Raymond, a father of four, was freed by High Court Judge Sandil Kissoon last Friday after spending nine years on remand awaiting trial for murder.
Identity issues seem to have dogged him in jail. He said even though he kept telling prison officers that his name was Jones Raymond, they kept referring to him as Raymond Jones.

Due to the lengthy time the man spent in pre-trial detention, the Judge declared that the State violated his constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time as guaranteed under Article 144 of the Constitution of Guyana, stayed all criminal proceedings against him, and ordered that he be released from the penitentiary immediately.
Several days after he was released, Raymond, an Indigenous man of Micobie Village, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) is now trying to adapt to life in the free world. He is determined to live a good life not only for himself but also for his children whom he loves dearly.

He was remanded to prison on December 28, 2012, for the murder of Gary Joseph, 33, which occurred sometime between December 26 and December 27, 2012.
It was the prosecution’s case that Joseph and several friends were imbibing at a shop on Boxing Day of 2012 when Raymond inquired about what he had done to his son.
The prosecution had contended that Raymond armed himself with an arrow and bow, which he used to shoot Joseph. The weapon struck the man in his abdomen.
The injured man was rushed to the Mahdia Hospital and then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he died while receiving treatment.

Life behind bars
Raymond, who is currently staying with his daughter until he can get back on his feet, spoke with reporters on Monday at his lawyer Teriq Mohammed’s office at South Road, Georgetown.
The pensioner, who spent time at the Camp Street and Lusignan Prisons, described his life behind bars as punishment. “I get poison, I get shot but my father [God], he is good to me today. The food wasn’t nice, eating slush every day, drinking tea without sugar,” he said.

He said that while he cannot hear nor see properly, and is suffering from high blood pressure, he got by in jail by “trying hard to do preaching and weeding…”
When his liberty was taken away, he lamented, “I lost everything…my house, my boat; I used to do farming, all my tools, everything gone.” He also professed his love for his children, one of whom was by his side on Monday.
Nekeita pointed out that although she and her father never shared a close relationship when she was younger, the least she could have done for him was to hire a lawyer to fight his case. As such, she sought assistance from the Amerindian Affairs Ministry.

Simple thing
Raymond told reporters that he indeed killed the man. He, however, explained that Joseph bullied his son, and as a parent, he could not sit idly by. He said it was a “simple thing” that made him go to jail. According to him, Joseph had burst his son’s head and slit his throat.
“And I didn’t like it, so I had to go. I didn’t have any intention of killing this man. When I go there, I asked him: Boy, what you do to [my son] and he [Joseph] rushed to me with a bottle and curse me. I had to take my weapon [arrow] and push it down him…,” a crying Raymond recounted.

He nevertheless said that he intends to stay away from bad company. Also, he is making efforts to register for his old age pension. He noted that it was something he tried doing while in jail, but was informed that he has to wait until his release to start the process.

Mix-up
Raymond described himself as a well-behaved prisoner. Meanwhile, identity issues seem to have dogged him in jail. According to him, he was imprisoned under the name Raymond Jones when his correct name is Jones Raymond. He noted that he had made several attempts to clear this up with prison officials, but they kept insisting that his name was Raymond Jones.
“My name is Jones Raymond but they had me as Raymond Jones…I asked them if they had any charges concerning Jones Raymond and they said no. I asked in the Essequibo Court, they said they have no charges against me.”

Languishing in jail
Following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), which Justice Kissoon said was completed promptly, Raymond was committed to stand trial on October 15, 2014, at the Essequibo High Court.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) received the depositions from that PI on March 23, 2015. But the DPP’s office remitted the case to the Magistrate’s Court for the presiding Magistrate to correct “several material irregularities and/or omissions” on part of the Magistrate, and for him to take additional evidence. Seven years later, the Magistrate, Alan Wilson, Justice Kissoon said, is yet to comply with the DPP’s directive.
In light of this, he said the man never had a “valid Preliminary Inquiry”.
The DPP’s Office, on Saturday, confirmed that the man was never indicted. In a statement, the Office said that it 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. But this was never done nor was the additional evidence ever forwarded to the DPP.

Grave tragedy
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”, he said the man opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter as he saw this as his only way out of prison. In 2021, the Judge recalled that he gave directions for him to be taken before the Essequibo Criminal Assizes for his plea to be taken and a sentence to be imposed. Notwithstanding those directions, Raymond, Justice Kissoon added, was before him again.
Come December 2022, he pointed out that the man’s time on remand would add up to 10 calendar years which equates to 15 prison years—a penalty for manslaughter.
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.
But for the officers of the Prison Service, the Judge said he would have been unaware of the case against Raymond, whom he described as a voiceless man who is incommunicado, and far removed from his home and community without representation.
As such, he frowned upon the state of affairs in Guyana’s criminal justice system, noting that such violations of citizens’ fundamental rights cannot and should not be condoned.
Given the circumstances, the Judge declared that the State violated Raymond’s fundamental right to a fair trial within a reasonable time as guaranteed by Article 144 of the Constitution, due to the inordinate period he spent in pre-trial detention. He also 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.
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 citizens has been and continued 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 Carter.

Representation they deserve
When asked if he plans to sue the State for violating his client’s constitutional rights, Mohammed said, “that might be a possibility or it may happen soon. So, only time will tell.”
The lawyer expressed that his thoughts on the criminal justice system mirror that of Justice Kissoon. He believes that had this matter not come up, his client would have stayed in jail and languished away “because he is a man of Amerindian descent, and I feel like they don’t have the representation that they truly need. Justice delayed is justice denied…”
In addition, Justice Kissoon had ordered that the Amerindian Affairs Ministry or any other institution assist Raymond, financial or otherwise, to ensure that he meets home safely.