Lead Stories

Patrina Pink, Gleaner Intern

It was unclear whether Millicent Forbes, mother of Janice Allen, a 13-year-old who was struck down by a policeman's bullet in Trench Town, St Andrew, in 2000 was just plain stubborn in her pursuit to see that her daughter did not become another meaningless statistic.

But her 10-year battle for truth and justice was hailed by Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), the human-rights lobby that supported her court fights, which likened her persistence to that of the island's national heroes.

"Ms Millicent Forbes' con-tribution to Jamaica will someday be recognised in similar fashion with monuments and legacies in the history books," said Dr Carolyn Gomes, executive director of JFJ.

Forbes died on June 21 at the University Hospital of the West Indies from a lung infection, family members said.

During yesterday's funeral at the Trench Town Seventh-day Adventist Church in south St Andrew, Forbes' 17-year-old grandson Kingsley Rhodd was unable to complete a remembrance and left the church, only to return in a fit of passion.

The youth threw the wreaths off the coffin and pried it open in an attempt to free his grandmother from death's embrace.

He would be comforted and told to "be a man now" and that "Miss Milli" would be redignified, the flowers returning to her coffin.

Tribute from ex-cop

JFJ director David Silvera read what he said was a tribute to Forbes by an unnamed ex-cop who was in the witness-protection programme overseas. In the tribute, the former policeman, unrelated to the Allen case, admitted to having killed extrajudicially.

"I have murdered," read the note.

The ex-cop also apologised for extrajudicial killings by other policemen but that was as close as the Forbes family got to sympathy from the Jamaica Constabulary Force yesterday, as no government or police official paid respects.

The Janice Allen case, a national flash point which turned the spotlight on police shootings, was declared closed less than a week ago when Justice Roy Anderson said there was no grounds for continuing, citing inconsistent evidence.

The JFJ said it will appeal that ruling.

"Her daughters are committed to fighting her battle," remarked Gomes.

"To all who pronounce her cause ended and think they can relax now that she is gone, not so fast!"

Millicent Forbes is survived by daughters Sheronan Campbell, Ann-Marie Allen, Alicia Coubrie, Latoya Grant and Georgia Brooks and son André Lindo.

patrina.pink@gleanerjm.com