Former Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell who celebrated his 90th birthday last month is in shock following a shooting incident which has left this country in a tangle.
“It is ridiculous in the public’s mind if people are using their position of authority to deny others justice. Are they themselves being scared of facing justice?
“So we are in a tangle here in St Vincent. And the question is, where is the way forward?” Sir James stated when he appeared as a guest on the OMG In Da Morning interactive program hosted by Dwight ‘Bing’ Joseph on Wednesday.
Sir James was at the time speaking about the April 13, 2021, shooting of sixty-two-year-old Cornelius John, a farmer living in Diamond.
John was at his home when three persons, two males and a female, entered his yard in the evening. He was allegedly sitting on a concrete block when one of the males said something to him about why he wanted to kill the senator.
The said male, whom he said he did not know and is now alleged to be Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Karim Nelson, allegedly kicked him off the block, stamped him in the stomach and shot him in the foot.
It is alleged that the female, identified as senator and Deputy Speaker of the House Ashelle Morgan pointed a gun at John’s head and told him if he calls her name she would shoot him in his mouth.
Sir James said that first of all there is the issue of what decision is to be taken in a situation that is not concluded. He said indeed he has been the victim of bias so he is very sensitive to that.
But nevertheless … if you are in a position of power, or authority, you ought to be very careful or you’ll lose it.
Sir James said that when the New Democratic Party (NDP) won all 15 constituencies in the 1989 general elections he told his ministers that the government should do nothing with all that power that it could not do if they lost power.
Referring to the last sitting of Parliament last month when Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday was suspended as he refuse to budge when requested by Speaker Rochell Forde to take his seat as he pressed demands on the matter of Morgan’s continued presence in parliament amid the allegations, Sir James said: “I was first of all shocked when the matter arose in parliament with the leader of the opposition calling on the Speaker to give her ruling that the Deputy Speaker should not be in parliament while being investigated.”
The former Prime Minister further stated: “I have heard all the complicated details about this one being present with this one. This one shooting that one. Where is the gun? But it wasn’t a gun, it was a question of a cutlass being used to threaten people.
“We have to get to the basic position: where do we, as a country, stand in regards to justice? Where do we stand as individuals?”
