Contributing Writers: Azad Ali, Tangerine Clarke,
George Alleyne, Nelson King,
Vinette K. Pryce, Bert Wilkinson
GENERAL INFORMATION (718) 260-2500
Caribbean L 10 ife, OCTOBER 25-31, 2019 BQ
By Gerry Hopkin JD
We have a screwed-up
judicial system in Grenada,
which is in dire, urgent
need of reform.
The Wednesday, Oct. 16
court decision in the Grenville
Court House in Grenada,
regarding an admittedto
sex crime committed by
an adult male, Treverson
Roberts, against a five-year
old, must be appealed and
amended, if justice is to be
served. This decision with
a very light penalty, came
as yet another in multiple
recent cases involving
alleged sex crimes against
children, which have
resulted in dismissals or
very light sentences, compared
to the much tougher
penalties being meted out
by the same Margistrate’s
Court, for perpetrators
found guilty of praedial larceny
and burglary.
Roberts was charged
with the crime of indecent
assault on a minor, which
he pleaded guilty of (forcing
the five-year old to perform
oral sex on him). In fact, he
admitted to the crime and
asked for forgivenesses via
various text messages sent
to the child’s mother.
In view of the facts of the
case and the obvious miscarriage
of justice in this
matter, I am calling on the
Attoney General and on the
Prosecutor General’s Office
in Grenada, to immediately
take steps to investigate,
appeal and amend this outrageous
and shamefully
unjust decision of a Magistrate
in Grenada.
Ironically, according to
reports, Trevorson Roberts,
a native of Grenada
who resides in New York,
had travelled to Grenada
to be ordained as a minister
in a congregation of
the Church of God Seventh
Day, and while on
the island, he forced the
five-year old boy, who was
briefly left in his care by
the mother, to perform
the sexual act mentioned
above.
Unfortunately, however,
the decision delivered on
October 16th at the Grenville
Court House, simply
ordered Roberts to pay
EC$1,500 cash to the State
and EC$600 to the mother,
to cover the cost of six sessions
of child welfare counseling.
These payments
had to be made by October
17th, or else the perpetrator
would be subject to one
month in jail.
This decision is tentamount
to a tap on the
wrist, especially when one
considers that the Court
already knew that Roberts
would have been able to
cover the pittance amount
of EC$1,500 — in view of
the evidence shared in the
trial about Roberts’ family’s
earlier offer to pay
EC$10,000 to the mother,
if she would cooperate with
the defendant and not be a
witness for the State. This
$10,000 offer of a payment
for the silence of the victim’s
mother, was allegedly
made by the pedophile’s
uncle. Thankfully, the
mother refused the offer
and instead demanded justice;
however, justice was
miscarried by the Court.
LOOKING AHEAD
Regarding penalties
for sex crimes, especially
those committed against
children, we need tougher
laws that would: i) deter
the untoward conduct of
might-be perpetrators; and
ii) punish and meaningfully
rehabilitate convicted
perpetrators.
Radical reform is needed
with respect to how certain
crimes are defined
and what penalties are prescribed.
Among other things,
sentencing guidelines
should be reviewed and
certain penalties should
be stated as mandatory.
Judges/Magistrates should
be given less leeway in the
issuance of sentences for
certain crimes, especially
those which result in
harms to our children who
cannot defend themselves.
The current illogical and
inconsiderate discrepancies
which we see on a daily
basis in the administration
of justice in Grenada and
in certain other Caribbean
states, require URGENT
APPROPRIATE CORRECTIVE
ACTION on the part
of our legislators (political
leaders/Government) who
create and amend our laws,
and on the part of jurists
who interpret and apply
our laws.
Citizens / residents in
Caribbean nations and in
the Diaspora, must demand
more and expect more.
Our activism, our protests
and our votes should
declare what we believe
in and what we stand for.
We the people, whether in
the USA, throughout the
Caribbean, or in Grenada,
must truly become the
agents of change by publicly
stating our demands,
desires and needs and following
through by only
voting for community
leaders who have a track
record of advocating for
the results we demand,
desire and need.
By Chazz Palminteri
The people of New York spoke
loud and clear: when the city
asked them which women should
be honored in perpetuity with a
government sanctioned statue,
the overwhelming favorite was
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.
For reasons that are apparently
too classified for City Hall
to divulge, Mayor Bill De Blasio’s
administration ignored the
results of the poll they commissioned
in an about-face that can
only be described as extremely
insulting to the patron saint of
immigration and the millions of
Italian Americans and Catholics
who revere her.
However it’s a testament to
her everlasting influence and
legacy that Governor Cuomo has
proudly volunteered to assemble
a State Commission to work with
the Columbus Citizens Foundation
and the Diocese of Brooklyn
to build a Mother Cabrini Statue
in New York City as quickly as
possible.
Of the city’s 150 statues, only
five of them are of women. This
is certainly a travesty that needs
to be corrected, and the people
of New York were right to
overwhelmingly select Mother
Cabrini as the first to be immortalized.
She is the embodiment of
New York values and a unifying
symbol. She founded some 70
schools, hospitals and orphanages
dedicated to caring for the
city’s poor, sick and unwanted.
Today, New York’s 700,000 Italian
Americans — and any immigrant
who has sought refuge in
this great city — owe her a debt
of gratitude.
I’m still scratching my
head over First Lady Charlene
McCray’s decision to spearhead
an initiative to involve the public
in the decision, only to disrespectfully
cast aside their votes
to honor an icon who aided the
huddled masses of poor and
vulnerable immigrants on their
journey through Ellis Island to
American citizenship. It’s a clear
implicit bias.
However, I agree with Governor
Cuomo when he says it’s
more important to correct this
injustice than to dwell on this
slight to one of New York’s most
important immigrant groups.
Few ethnic groups have immigrated
in bigger numbers to this
city to escape oppression and poverty
than Italians. And I applaud
Governor Cuomo for standing up
for our shared heritage, and the
heritage of New York’s massive
Italian-American community.
The Statue of Liberty is the
first thing our ancestors saw
when coming to America, and
now a monument to Mother
Cabrini will grace the shores
of Manhattan in the shadow of
Lady Liberty, and remind future
generations of this country’s
promise.
Mother Cabrini represents the
core values of this great city of
immigrants — and New Yorkers
overwhelmingly selected her as
their top choice to be honored.
The city ignored their wishes but
thanks to the state, a wrong has
been righted and soon a statue
of Cabrini will stand as tall as
her legacy.
Chazz Palminteri is an actor,
screenwriter, producer and playwright.
OP-EDS
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Another instance of
miscarried justice in Grenada
Governor Cuomo
deserves praise
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