A.J.NICHOLSON, Q.C., the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, yesterday demanded that a ruling be made, soon, in the case of the Braeton Seven.
After a press conference at his ministry in the Mutual Life Building, New Kingston, he said it was about time that a decision be made by Kent Pantry, Q.C., Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), on whether anyone should be charged with the deaths of the seven young men who were shot dead in Braeton , south St. Catherine, on March 14, 2001.
"I don't know if he has yet received it," Mr. Nicholson said of the documented evidence from the coroner's inquest into the deaths. "But one thing we know, he has not yet ruled. We would have heard if he had ruled."
Last year, the nine-month long Coroner's inquest, presided over by Resident Magistrate Lorna Errar-Gayle, found that no one was criminally responsible for the deaths. The seven young men were killed in a police operation at Seal Way, in Braeton.
Under the law, the DPP is required to give a ruling on the matter, "in a timely manner", legal observers say, as the inquest ended with a divided verdict. The majority verdict of six to four was essentially a no-decision, the observers said.
"Just about that time has passed," Mr. Nicholson said in reference to the "reasonable time frame" in which the case should be closed. "I would rather suspect and expect that they (the documents) would be at the DPP's office any time now. We are all awaiting a ruling on the issue and it's full time we got one."
Mr. Nicholson, in responding to a petition from the families of the young men, said that for them to take the Braeton matter to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission would be "quite premature". "These international bodies, they do not take cases on to themselves until the domestic cases have gone through", he said. As the Braeton case has not yet been closed, he suggested, that the commission would be going against procedure if it sought to examine the case at this juncture.
At the press conference, the minister, along with Donna Parchment, attorney-at-law and executive director of the Disputes Resolution Foundation, highlighted the outcome of yesterday's seventh Human Rights Consultative Meeting at the ministry's offices.
Mr. Nicholson said the group explored the concept of "Restorative Justice", in which focus would be placed on both victims, families and communities, as well as offenders, when considering justice.
"The Legal Reform Department is currently doing research to see how best to incorporate a system of Restorative Justice into our existing legal process," he said.
According to Ms. Parchment, though the concept was first embraced five years ago, the decision was taken to fully examine Restorative Justice as a result of recommendations made by the West Kingston Commission of Enquiry. This was supported by a Cabinet decision "that the Ministry of Justice should lead the initiative to bring further improvements to the nation's criminal justice system".
