Nettleford
Glenda Anderson, Staff Reporter
IN A LANDMARK decision, the Government of Jamaica has awarded 77-year-old Ivan Nettleford the sum of $9 million for having suffered unnecessarily in the island's penal system for 29 years.
"A settlement figure of $9 million has been reached which is subject to the court's approval and the appointment of trustees," said Nancy Anderson, secretary of the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) and the legal officer who has been working to effect the resolution.
Legal documents to finalise the proceedings were filed last week in the Supreme Court by his lawyers."Once we get a (court) date I anticipate that payment should begin in the month of February," Ms. Anderson said but explained that a schedule of payment had also been worked out by which 'the full sum should be paid by the end of June.'
Under the agreement, Mr. Nettleford's nephew, Hubert Graham, and niece, Beverly Whyte, are to be appointed as legal trustees of his affairs.
A relieved Mr. Graham said that while the sum was very small, it was very welcome.
"I don't think it's fair but it's enough to make him comfortable and take care of some things for him. For instance we really need to finish the house, and especially the bathroom. And he'll have something to take care of the medical bills," he said.
According to Ms. Anderson, the Nettleford claim represents the first time a mentally ill person has been compensated for wrongful imprisonment in Jamaica.
"Definitely, I think it would have been the first time, and it shows that the Government is accepting some responsibility for the false detention of Mr. Nettleford," she said.
Diagnosed as schizophrenic, Ivan Nettleford was lost in the system partly because his name was changed by prison authorities to Ivan Barrows as he moved from one penitentiary to another across the island.
Mr. Nettleford initially broke a window in Chapelton, Clarendon, in 1972.
The offence normally carries a maximum five-year sentence. Mr. Nettleford was transferred from Chapelton jail to the May Pen jail before being sent to Bellevue Hospital.
From there, he was transferred to the General Penitentiary and finally the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre.
He was finally released in March 2001 through the efforts of the IJCHR after being discovered by a prison psychiatrist in 1999.
FLAWS IN THE SYSTEM
In an earlier Gleaner report, Nancy Anderson, IJCHR Secretary, pointed to flaws in the system which accounted for his situation.
These include the fact that, when ordered by the Resident Magistrate to be held for treatment for mental illness and to re-appear in court when fit to plea, there was no follow-up. No date was set for his return to court. In prison apparently no social worker was assigned to his case.
"There may not have been a doctor. If there were, he might have only been part-time or overworked, so Mr. Nettleford probably never received a medical examination while in prison," Ms. Anderson said.
"Because of his mental condition, he may not have been able to speak up for himself or complain to the superintendent, so he was further overlooked.
"His constitutional right to a fair trial within a 'reasonable' time was also breached."
Following on Mr. Nettleford's discovery, Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe issued a practice direction that monthly reports on the welfare of mentally ill persons remanded in custody should be presented to the Resident Magistrates.
In addition, a 'Procedural Manual for Dealing With the Mentally Ill in Prison' was drafted by representatives from the Mental Health Unit of the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), the Department of Corrections (DOC), the IJCHR, and the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Recently, however, a call to the island's correctional institutions by the Public Defender for a complete list of mentally ill detainees has not yielded any success, while human rights officials say the number in prisons may well stand at about 500 persons.
