As hopes of justice die, so does mother

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Millicent Forbes, whose daughter Janice Allen was controversially killed by a police constable eight years ago, died on Sunday at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

She was 53.

Forbes' daughter Ann-Marie Allen did not give a cause of death but told The Gleaner her mother was admitted to hospital last Thursday evening after experiencing stomach pains. She said Forbes had suffered from stomach ailments for some time.

Human-rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) helped bring the Janice Allen story to national attention, calling for strong action against Constable Rohan Allen, the policeman who shot the 13-year-old as she stood at her gate in Arnett Gardens in April 2000.

JFJ lauded Forbes in a statement yesterday, saying she was a "true Jamaican hero" who "withstood death threats, harassment, attempted bribery and repeated disappointments but she refused to give up".

Born in Manchester, Forbes was the mother of seven children. Ann-Marie Allen, the fourth of those siblings, said her mother was an ancillary worker for most of her life.

Long legal battle

Initially, police said Janice, the sixth of Forbes' children, was killed during a gunfight with criminals in Arnett Gardens. Constable Allen (no relation to the deceased) was eventually charged with murder but was freed in March 2004 when a jury was directed to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

In May last year, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn ruled that having examined all the material in the case, the Crown was not in a position to establish a case against Constable Allen.

The Supreme Court upheld Llewellyn's ruling in April. Judge Patrick Brooks dismissed Forbes' challenge to the DPP on the grounds that it had no reasonable prospect of success.

Forbes is survived by six children and 13 grandchildren.