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by pltm
(PLTM) - Someone has been on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison for eight years, and Minister for Social Development, Hon. Carvin Malone explained that the issues from the 2017 hurricanes could have contributed to this situation.
The unfortunate report was revealed by the Minister in the House of Assembly during the July 31 sitting, in response to a question that was posed by Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Marlon Penn.
In responding to the question of how many persons are currently on remand and how long they have been on remand, Hon. Malone told the House that a total of 41 persons are currently remanded at Her Majesty’s Prison, including 25 inmates awaiting trial.
He mentioned that in two cases, persons have appealed their sentences, and that overall the period of remand ranges from one month in some cases.
Nonetheless, Hon. Malone noted that according to the information provided to him, eight years is the longest time some is recorded as being on remand.
“The longest mentioned that I have seen is up to eight years. A number of them however are for a much shorter period...but the eight years is extreme,” Hon. Malone pointed out.
The Minister noted that eight years is a long time to be on remand and suggested that the 2017 disasters could have contributed to the wait.
“It has two months in some of them, three months in others, four months in others ...five months and so forth…That’s the extreme of it...In my view far too long, but the judicial system has been affected from 2017 onwards and has resulted in a number of these cases,” the Minister said.
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