Mario Deane’s community unhappy, says convicted cops got ‘slapped on the wrist’

WESTERN BUREAU:

Residents of Rose Mount in Montego Bay, St James, Mario Deane’s home community, are unhappy with sentences that were given to the three police personnel who were convicted in connection with his August 2014 beating death.

Corporal Elaine Stewart, the most senior of the three, was sentenced to five years in prison, while her co-convicts, constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, were each given three-year suspended sentences by Chief Justice Courtney Daye, who presided over their sentencing in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on Tuesday.

A female resident, whose family was close to Deane, described the sentences as a slap on the wrist, saying the punishment did not match the brutality and the major injuries Deane suffered.

“I do not think it was a fair sentencing because that guy [Deane] did not give trouble ... . I do not understand it, and I do not think it is fair,”she said.

“Mr McKenzie went there to bail him the same day, and they denied the bail for him, and I do not think it is fair. They should go and do some time (in prison) for the gentleman’s death ... [it] is very unfair,” she added.

The woman was referencing reports that Castelle McKenzie, a family friend of Deane’s, went to bail him shortly after he was arrested on August 3, 2014, but was not allowed to do so because Stewart reportedly claimed he had said something that offended her. Deane suffered the fatal beating that day, and died three days later at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

Another Rose Mount resident, who asked to be identified only as Leroy, said he grew up with Deane, and while he was happy that the police personnel were found guilty, he, too, felt the sentences handed down did not meet his expectations of justice.

SHOWS LACK OF VALUE

“As it relates to the sentencing, I was personally looking for them to have some time behind bars (prison),” said Leroy. “I am upset about it, because I do not think justice was delivered on behalf of the family of Mario Deane.”

Social activist Dennis Meadows, who was one of the first persons to stand with Deane’s family in demanding justice for him shortly after his death, believes that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) should conduct a review of the implicated cops’ sentences.

“The verdict, in my view, indicates the lack of value we place on the lives of those who are marginalised. Mario Deane came from humble beginnings, and he was killed brutally, and that means absolutely nothing; and that to me is a travesty of justice, and it is a sad day in Jamaica,” said Meadows. “... It is an insult to the family of Mario Deane, because his mother, Mercia Fraser, has been a warrior and a champion for justice in excess of 10 years, and the sentence smacks of contempt.

“What confidence do you expect people to place in the system of justice? Nobody has any confidence in the system of justice, and so they are more inclined to exact justice themselves,” continued Meadows. “In terms of the legal recourse, this is the end of it. But it is really only the DPP who has the power to appeal the sentence, and I think she should exploit that power that she has to at least seek a review of the sentencing meted out to those persons who were convicted.”

NO GROUNDS FOR CHALLENGE

However, when DPP Paula Llewellyn was contacted by The Gleaner, she argued that High Court Justice Courtney Daye, who presided over the trial, issued the ruling based on a correct analysis of the law, and therefore her office would have no grounds to challenge his decision.

“The judge went out of his way to indicate the case law that he was guided by, and then he went through the calculating of the sentencing. He anchored his sentencing in respect of Corporal Stewart on the fact that her role as the supervisor would have caused her to get that sentence,” said Llewellyn. “It would appear to be within the range that the judge would be able to use, and he gave his reasons. From where we stand, there would be no basis, based on the evidence in the matter, for us to take it any further.”

Stewart was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for manslaughter, one year for misconduct in a public office, and one year for attempting to pervert the course of justice. The sentences are to run concurrently. Clevon and Grant were each sentenced to three years for manslaughter, suspended for three years, and one year for misconduct in a public office, suspended for two years.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com