Executive Director of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), Mickel Jackson, has expressed concerns about the lack of progress in the case of Mario Deane, emphasizing the state’s negligence in addressing the delays.

Deane, who was arrested on August 3, 2014, for possession of a small amount of marijuana, was brutally beaten by inmates while in police custody. He subsequently died from his injuries on August 6, 2014, at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

Three police officers who were on duty — Corporal Elaine Stewart, District Constable Marlon Grant and District Constable Juliana Clevon — were charged with manslaughter, perverting the course of justice and misconduct in a public office.

JFJ and members of Deane’s family staged a protest on Wednesday, August 21, at the Barnett Street Police Station in Montego Bay, St James, to register their frustration with the significant delays seen in the case.

“The state has failed the family and continues to fail the family. Beyond failing the family, what the state is saying to Jamaican citizens, that when it is state actors who are involved and implicated in a citizen dying while in state custody, in this situation in police custody, there is seemingly no sense of alacrity in ensuring that the matter is ventilated before the courts and the family can realize justice,” Jackson told Our Today.

“I put in perspective that since the officers were implicated and, in fact, charged by INDECOM [the Independent Commission of Investigations] in 2014, what you have seen is court challenges, administrative challenges, and delays until the court in 2018, indicating that these officers do have a case to answer for. Since the court made a definitive position in 2018, what we have seen yet again is administrative delays, for example, missing files and reports from the dockets that will be important for the trial to commence. Following those successive delays in the last few hearings, we have been told that there is a juror shortage,” she added.

Jackson — who bemoaned the fact that the case has been marred by delays, including the shortage of jurors — is demanding that the state move with alacrity so no further delays occur.

“Notwithstanding that, there is an overall juror shortage in the country. It is incumbent on the state to ensure that the correct list is being used so that you can find potential jurors. With that in mind, we have said that the Court Administration Division as well as the police down by the west ought to be doing better. I also put to you that the Jury Act clearly indicates that potential jurors ought to be issued with summons at least 21 days, and I just indicated that in one instance, what you find is that the jurors, the reaching out to them, was done less than two weeks before the trial date, so simply put the state is not adhering to the legislation as is so required,” she said.

“While one can be sympathetic that there is perhaps a shortage of resources and so on, at what point does that offer comfort to a family that has seen their family member die in such a brutal matter? It is important that, in the interest of justice, come November 18, there is any delay.”

Jackson said the JFJ has written to the Commissioner of Police, Dr Kevin Blake, and the Commanding Officer for St James Division, Superintendent of Police, Eron Samuels, highlighting the challenges in ensuring that jurors are contacted in a timely manner. However, she said, the JFJ has yet to receive a response.

A new trial date is set for November 18, 2024.

JFJ is advocating for the case to be transferred from the St James Circuit Court to the Home Circuit Court in Kingston, where there is a greater chance for the jury to be empanelled.