A Grave Miscarriage of Justice

Glenford Logan was granted his freedom on Monday after spending 21 years in a jail cell at the Belize Central Prison. He was never convicted of the crime he was charged with. In fact, he was never tried for that crime.

Logan was arrested in 2003, accused of the murder of security guard Kingsford Obeng. On August 5, 2000, Obeng, who was guarding a grocery store, was attacked by a man who slashed his throat. Obeng died the next morning in the hospital. Logan was 23 years old when he was charged with the murder. He is now 44.

For more than two decades, Logan remained behind the walls of the prison. He was dubbed the “oldest ramandee.”

But not anymore. Today, Logan is a free man.

High Court Justice Nigel Pilgrim reviewed Logan’s case. He found that Logan’s constitutional rights had been violated due to his prolonged detention without trial. Court documents revealed that there were no case files or evidence presented, and submissions from Logan’s attorney, Sherigne Rodriguez, revealed that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia by Dr. Jose Matus, the psychiatric doctor at the Belize Central Prison.

Logan, diagnosed with schizophrenia, had been deemed unfit to stand trial and had remained in remand under the status “Detention in safe custody until His Majesty’s Pleasure shall be known.”

Despite all of this, Logan languished in prison.

After the court ruled that Logan’s constitutional rights had been violated, the “oldest remandee” was immediately released.

However, the question remains: where did the justice system of Belize fail Logan? Is this a stand-alone case?

News 5 spoke with criminal defence attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley to get an understanding of the legal perspective. Bradley explained, “Every person is entitled by law to have their temporary imprisonment reviewed.” He added that this “means that there has been a terrible failure of the system that a human being can be in prison so long without trial.”

Bradley also pointed out a troubling trend regarding prisoners held for mental health issues. He said, “When I had reason to enquire, there were 92 persons who were in prison for mental problems.” He further stated that many people in prison are there because they are mentally ill and unable to understand what is happening in their trials. Some of them are not even fit to stand trial due to their mental state. “Many others who are in prison, they just need medication; they need psychiatric attention.” Bradley said that this reflects a failure to protect vulnerable individuals, especially those from poorer backgrounds.

While Logan’s family expressed relief over his release, their reactions were also of frustration at the system that allowed Logan’s wrongful detention for so long. A relative voiced the pain endured by the family, stating on Facebook, “Unu nuh know half of what we gaan through with my uncle and them not trying to let him out. My grandmother has been hurt by this situation for decades and has been there for her son through this traumatic experience.” “We ask that y’all be as outraged as we are and help us get justice for him,” the relative added.

However, the public response has been mixed. In Monday’s News 5 report on Logan’s case, 672 Facebook users reacted to the video. 148 users shared their perspectives in the comment section. Some were critical of Logan’s release, with one user stating, “I want to know if when he kills again, people will have the same nice words to say about him… Sorry if I sound offensive, but it’s reality.” Other users opposed this point of view and highlighted Logan’s mental health condition, with the user stating, “If he’s schizophrenic, he shouldn’t even have been in prison… It should’ve been a mental facility or regular society with proper meds, but again… da Belize we deh. Being mentally ill isn’t an excuse, but you kind of need to understand that the person isn’t fully there, so, of course, certain behaviour will happen; like, it’s not rocket science.”

The reactions varied from both extremes, including one where a user suggested holding the Belize justice system accountable for Logan’s lengthy detention.“I guess the government or the judge who sentenced him to all those years in prison should compensate the person… it’s unfair,” said the user. 

Logan can sue. Bradley says that he has grounds to launch a civil suit against the government of Belize. He explained that if a person has been detained for 21 years without a trial and there is no valid reason for this, they are entitled to seek justice.

“Any person who has had their constitutional rights violated is entitled” to go to court for redress, “which means for justice, for compensation,” he added. Bradley said while the full facts of Logan’s case are still unclear, it’s important to “speak up for people who are unable to speak up for themselves.”