‘A national disgrace’
High court justice slams decade-long delay in trial of officers charged over Mario Deane’s death
Published:Tuesday | November 12, 2024 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
High Court Justice Bertram Morrison expressed his outrage on Monday over the decade-long delay in the trial of three police officers charged in connection with the 2014 death of Mario Deane, with ongoing issues with juror summonses cited as the latest cause for the hold-up.
Morrison’s frustration was evident when Corporal Elaine Stewart and constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant appeared in the St James Circuit Court. The prosecution informed him that none of the approximately 300 summonses issued for the current sitting of the court had been served by the police.
“This is so embarrassing, and I do not want to make it sound as if I am personally involved, but it is a national disgrace. How can 300 summonses [go] out and none have been served? You put that together and round it out in your heads,” said Morrison.
“I do not want to draw inferences, but I am going to put it on the record now. ... Can’t you see what is happening? Is the director of public prosecutions’ office or the justice system impotent to remedy that situation?” continued Morrison. “It cannot be that these three defendants, who are presumed innocent until proven guilty, do not want this matter to be tried. They have had this matter hanging over their heads for 10 years.”
The judge also suggested the possibility of moving the trial to another location outside of St James, to avoid further delays.
The matter was subsequently rescheduled to November 14, when the court will decide how to proceed. The three defendants had their bail extended until that date.
Stewart, Clevon, and Grant have seen their trial rescheduled more than 10 times since their first appearance in the St James Circuit Court on September 18, 2018. The officers face charges of manslaughter, misconduct in a public office, and perverting the course of justice.
The charges stem from the events of August 3, 2014, when Deane – a 31-year-old man arrested earlier that day for possession of a small amount of ganja – was allegedly beaten while in custody at the Barnett Street police lock-up in Montego Bay. Deane was admitted to Cornwall Regional Hospital in an unresponsive state and died three days later.
It is also alleged that Stewart, as the senior officer on duty, ordered the cleaning of the cell where the beating took place before investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations arrived.