Court awards $44 million to wrongfully arrested man

Shawn Robinson, a 39-year-old former construction worker who spent more than seven years in custody for crimes he did not commit, has been awarded $44 million by the Supreme Court.

Fifteen years ago, on May 9, 2009, Robinson was walking on Federal Avenue in St Andrew when four policemen searched him and ordered him to accompany them to the Constant Spring Police Station, where he was jailed until June 11. He was charged with several offences, including murder, arson, illegal possession of firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, burglary, and robbery with aggravation.

Robinson was initially refused bail but was finally granted bail by the court in November 2015. However, he was not released on bail until July 2016 due to his inability to meet his bail conditions.

The charges in the Gun Court were dismissed in August 2011 for want of prosecution, and the charges in the Circuit Court were dismissed in January 2017 when the prosecution offered no evidence against him after the sole eyewitness confirmed Robinson’s long-standing position that the police had arrested the wrong person.

Robinson filed a lawsuit against the Government and two police officers in 2019, seeking damages for malicious prosecution, negligence, and breaches of his constitutional rights, along with aggravated and exemplary damages. He was represented by attorneys Hadrian Christie and Abbi-Gaye Coulson from the law firm Asher and Asher.

The outcome of the case has resulted in the attorneys for the claimant calling on the powers that be “to consider the level of scrutiny that should be required before arresting, charging, and denying a person bail”.

The attorney General, Detective Sergeant Alvan Fearon, and Detective Sergeant Roye were the defendants in the claim, which was filed in 2019.

Justice Pamela Mason assessed damages in March and handed down her written decision on July 22.

“It was incumbent upon the police to ensure that they detained the correct person,” Justice Pamela Mason said.

Robinson was awarded $26 million in general damages for malicious prosecution, $4 million for aggravated damages, $3.35 million for the breach of his constitutional right to liberty, $4.5 million in special damages for loss of income, and $717,554 in exemplary damages. The total award, including interest, amounted to $44 million.

default judgment

The claimant, Robinson, was granted a default judgment in April 2023 due to the defendants’ failure to file a defence within the prescribed time. They appealed, but the Court of Appeal refused to grant them an extension to file a defence because their proposed defence had no realistic prospect of success.

Of note, Justice Mason did not compensate Robinson for the inhumane and undignified conditions he endured in the lock-ups at the Constant Spring Police Station. The facility has a long history of allegations of unconstitutional and inhumane conditions. In 1992, Agana Barrett, a 21-year-old carpenter, suffocated in an overcrowded cell at the lock-up. The claimant’s lawyers had requested that the judge consider Barrett’s case.

Robinson, in referring to the inhumane conditions at the Constant Spring Police Station, testified that he had to share a small cell with 13 other persons. He said they had to fold themselves up on the gritty and asphalt-like ground in a line in order to sleep. They slept on cardboard or newspaper or whatever was available. He spoke of the cell having no bathroom facilities, and he and others in the cell had to urinate in plastic bottles and defecate in scandal bags in the presence of cellmates because they were only allowed to use the bathroom once per day.

Robinson described the communal bathroom as filthy and lacking in privacy for persons showering or using the toilet. The meals, he said, were improperly cooked, causing him nausea, and were served from dirty buckets and paint pans.

inhumane and

undignified conditions

The judge, however, ruled that the detention of the claimant “was no less than what would be expected of a Jamaican holding area for detainees and others”.

Meanwhile, the judge referred to the fact that Robinson was served with the death penalty notice and said also that the imminent threat of facing capital punishment undoubtedly caused significant mental distress and anxiety. The judge also referred to the length of time that Robinson spent in custody.

Commenting on the outcome of the award, the attorneys for the claimant said that the judgment was a “significant step forward that provides our client with a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel”.

“We hope this situation will cause the powers that be to reconsider two things, First, the level of scrutiny that should be required before arresting, charging, and denying a person bail. Secondly, the conditions under which we are holding persons before trial – considering that all are innocent until proven guilty at trial. Like Mr Robinson, there are some who are simply innocent who should not have to suffer the ordeal that he did,” the attorneys emphasised.

editorial@gleanerjm.com