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http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=155730761
A JUDGE yesterday criticised prison authorities for failing to provide proper medical attention to an inmate whose hearing has deteriorated during his seven years behind bars.
Nigel "Spidey" Lucas' loss of hearing prevented him from facing trial on a murder charge and he only agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter if he was allowed to go home.
In passing sentence yesterday, Justice Joan Charles, presiding in the Port of Spain Third Criminal Court at the Hall of Justice, said the peculiar circumstances of Lucas' case warranted a non-custodial sentence.
She ordered that Lucas, 36, sign a bond in the sum of $75,000 to keep the peace for the next five years.
If Lucas commits an offence during that period he will be brought back to court and sentenced again for the manslaughter offence.
The judge agreed that Lucas' case fell within the narrow category of being both rare and exceptional and the imposition of a bond could not erode the public's confidence in the administration of justice.
Charles noted, however, that there were "some rather disturbing aspects to this case" including the failure of prison officers to comply with court orders to treat the prisoner and provide him with the relevant hearing aid equipment.
Charles emphasised though that the fact that someone was accused of an offence and had some sort of medical condition does not entitle them to receive special treatment.
She said prison authorities were under an obligation by law to see to it that prisoner obtain the required attention but unlike Lucas' case, the treatment he received was unsatisfactory.
The judge noted that there have been cases where prisoners with significant medical ailments are completely ignored or treated in a cavalier manner.
"This has to stop!" she exclaimed.
Charles said she hoped that the situation does not have to arise where people in prison will be held to be criminally liable for such gross and inexcusable misconduct before the authorities take heed.
The judge noted that even people sentenced to death must be kept safely until the State was ready to carry out the sentence.
Defence attorneys Keith Scotland and Celeste Jules had submitted that Lucas could not face a full trial for murder even if he was provided with the latest digital hearing aid since his client would not be able to fully participate in his trial.
A qualified audiologist, Mary Springer, had testified that Lucas was not faking his ability not to hear properly and noted that exposure to a simple viral infection or loud music could cause the prisoner to become completely deaf.
Lucas, of Sherwood Park, Arima, admitted that he stabbed Troy Webb to death during a bar fight during Jouvert celebrations on Carnival Monday (February 15), 1999 in the eastern borough.
State prosecutor Tricia Hudlin said the State was not contesting the imposition of a non-custodial sentence in Lucas' favour having regard to the peculiar circumstances in his case.
Webb, 35, of Tumpuna Road, Arima, was in a Carnival mud mas' band, when he and two friends went to a bar, at Broadway, Arima, to purchase a bottle of rum when an argument between Lucas and Webb escalated into a fight.
A JUDGE yesterday criticised prison authorities for failing to provide proper medical attention to an inmate whose hearing has deteriorated during his seven years behind bars.
Nigel "Spidey" Lucas' loss of hearing prevented him from facing trial on a murder charge and he only agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter if he was allowed to go home.
In passing sentence yesterday, Justice Joan Charles, presiding in the Port of Spain Third Criminal Court at the Hall of Justice, said the peculiar circumstances of Lucas' case warranted a non-custodial sentence.
She ordered that Lucas, 36, sign a bond in the sum of $75,000 to keep the peace for the next five years.
If Lucas commits an offence during that period he will be brought back to court and sentenced again for the manslaughter offence.
The judge agreed that Lucas' case fell within the narrow category of being both rare and exceptional and the imposition of a bond could not erode the public's confidence in the administration of justice.
Charles noted, however, that there were "some rather disturbing aspects to this case" including the failure of prison officers to comply with court orders to treat the prisoner and provide him with the relevant hearing aid equipment.
Charles emphasised though that the fact that someone was accused of an offence and had some sort of medical condition does not entitle them to receive special treatment.
She said prison authorities were under an obligation by law to see to it that prisoner obtain the required attention but unlike Lucas' case, the treatment he received was unsatisfactory.
The judge noted that there have been cases where prisoners with significant medical ailments are completely ignored or treated in a cavalier manner.
"This has to stop!" she exclaimed.
Charles said she hoped that the situation does not have to arise where people in prison will be held to be criminally liable for such gross and inexcusable misconduct before the authorities take heed.
The judge noted that even people sentenced to death must be kept safely until the State was ready to carry out the sentence.
Defence attorneys Keith Scotland and Celeste Jules had submitted that Lucas could not face a full trial for murder even if he was provided with the latest digital hearing aid since his client would not be able to fully participate in his trial.
A qualified audiologist, Mary Springer, had testified that Lucas was not faking his ability not to hear properly and noted that exposure to a simple viral infection or loud music could cause the prisoner to become completely deaf.
Lucas, of Sherwood Park, Arima, admitted that he stabbed Troy Webb to death during a bar fight during Jouvert celebrations on Carnival Monday (February 15), 1999 in the eastern borough.
State prosecutor Tricia Hudlin said the State was not contesting the imposition of a non-custodial sentence in Lucas' favour having regard to the peculiar circumstances in his case.
Webb, 35, of Tumpuna Road, Arima, was in a Carnival mud mas' band, when he and two friends went to a bar, at Broadway, Arima, to purchase a bottle of rum when an argument between Lucas and Webb escalated into a fight.