A lawyer has invited High Court judge Justice Rickie Burnett to visit the police stations in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Grant Connell gave the invitation at the closing of the assize at High Court No. 2 in December after the judge said he had visited His Majesty’s Prisons in Kingstown at the invitation of fellow judge, Justice Brian Cottle.
Burnett said he was inviting himself to visit the Belle Isle Correctional Facility, the country’s main penitentiary.
“My lord, you have invited yourself to the prisons. That’s a good invitation. I’d like you to invite yourself to the police stations,” Connell said.
“You cannot have these good men and women living in those conditions,” he told the court during the sitting in which lawyers generally comment on issues relating to justice and the judicial system.
“I have visited some — there is one police station, a big, big yellow one out Windward. You have to use the bathroom at a distance. When you look in the cell for the prisoners there was one toilet with maggots in there,” Connell said.
“No!” another lawyer who was sitting at the Bar table during the sitting said.
“You tell me? I been there. I see it with my own eyes,” Connell responded.
“Down Leeward, the roof, if you move it, you get at least 20 sacks of bat manure. Police have to be ducking bats when it coming in,” Connell further told the court.
“Those are the reasons why the head has to be here. The commissioner has to listen to these things.”
Earlier in his comments, Connell noted that acting Commissioner of Police Enville Williams was absent for the third consecutive closing of the assizes.
“Yes, my good friend, [Deputy Commissioner of Police] Frankie Joseph is there and the commissioner in waiting is there too,” the lawyer said.
Someone asked who was the commissioner in waiting and Connell responded, “Everybody over there know who it is” — referring to the section of the court in which the senior police officers were sitting.
“When the acting done, the real commissioner — will the real commissioner please stand up? please stand up?” Connell said, mirroring the lyrics and tune of Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady”.
Connell urged the judge to try to visit the nation’s police stations.
“You can start at the Drug Squad base, which is an upgraded pigeon coop. You can go out where the elite police officers — and I say elite because of their condition — they have one that everybody knows as Grandpa, that squad out that side, you can’t have people living in those conditions,” Connell said.
Aaaaah…oho! So this is the straight shooting and plain speaking that offends the prosecutorial sensibilities. Well, let her deal with it as she would the sped arrow. And let her navigate between truth and what she would like truth to be
An visit the clinics, hospitals, schools , roads and all the other govt buildings too. remember maintainance is not
a word in dem dictionary ,,, everything ah rotten down .
I am total agreement with the you Grant. The conditions of prisons and police stations in this country are in very deplorable conditions. With such poor conditions no wonder why the cops take out their frustrations on the citizens of this country. Police abuse and other blames have been leveled at the police and one can understand why. However as the old folks says, “they love it so”
Grant Connel really is a national hero of the people. He is fearless and will bring almost anything to the attention of the court at any time. We need more lawyers like him, but most of them are absolutely useless lazy money grabbers. If 10% of them were up to Connels standard SVG would be a better place.