Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves for the first time spoke widely about the matter involving Senator Ashelle Morgan and Assistant DPP Karim Nelson.
Police say Morgan and Nelson are persons of interest in a shooting incident at Cornelius John’s residence at Diamond on April 13.
At a press conference on June 15, Gonsalves said some people have a profound misunderstanding about two things, which he commented on before. Still, he says, it apparently hasn’t gotten into the heads of some people.
Gonsalves says when there’s the allegation of a criminal offense being committed by one or more persons, two critical factors arise immediately.
“One, that a person is entitled to the presumption of innocence. Secondly, that person is entitled to what I may call, in a summary sense, procedural fairness, which is due process of the law.”
“Those two things are fundamental to the maintenance of the rule of law. So when somebody writes and says St Vincent is on its way to being a failed state, suggesting that the Prime Minister should involve himself in an investigation and prosecution, I have nothing to do with that. These are not legal niceties; I see one lawyer who writes quite a lot says that I am finding refuge in legalisms. I absolutely say it is not legalism. That person is entitled to a presumption of innocence, that is a bedrock of a fair and just society”.
“Secondly, that a person who is accused of committing a criminal offense or about whom a complaint is being made, that allegation must be examined by the police force independently, and after the police force has completed the investigation will pass the file, particularly in a serious matter, to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Director of Public Prosecutions look at that file and may give further instructions to the police as to what they want to do. The police examine further and send the file back to the DPP. Would somebody show me anywhere in the law book, anywhere in the constitution, that any of those things is a mere legalism in the first case, and secondly, that the Prime Minister can intrude himself in this”.
Gonsalves said he stated from the beginning that everybody should just wait because some investigations take longer than others. However, because Ashelle Morgan is a senator on the government side, it appears that she’s not entitled to the presumption of innocence.
“I see a lawyer every day were these newspaper reporting or online publications reporting those which are drawn to my attention, and she’s all the time on the radio saying what offense Ashelle Morgan should be charged with, and nobody among the lawyers has the guts, no one has the guts, the fortitude to get up and say what you are doing is wrong, that there is an investigation ongoing, the commissioner of police has said so.”
“She’s advising which charge should be laid, and nobody at the active bar among the lawyers would say anything about that, and that could be fair.”
Gonsalves said the unsuspecting public when they hear people talk, don’t know that Section 64 of the Constitution speaks to the DPP.
“About the DPP, Director of Public Prosecutions, it says, the DPP shall have power in any case in which he considers it desirable to do so, to institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law other than a court-martial in respect of any offence alleged to have been committed by that person.”
“Section 64 – 6 says this, In the exercise of the powers vested in him, the Director of Public Prosecutions shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority. So when the leader of the opposition says. You must set up a special prosecutor to do this. To do this case, he wants to rewrite the constitution.”
“If the DPP, let us say seeks assistance formally to get some lawyer from outside to advise on a particular file, I say formerly, that adviser can’t tell her what to do. Shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority. I can’t interfere with that, am waiting like everybody else to see the two fundamental rights at play, that is to see the presumption of innocence and then due process, procedural fairness”.
Gonsalves said the Police Commissioner has to be fair to Ashelle Morgan, and the investigators under him have to be fair to Assistant DPP Nelson and fair to Cornelius John.
“The DPP has to assess that in the light of the law, the evidence which comes before her, and she’s guided by a prosecutorial code which has been adopted.”
“Then I saw Sir James say he would have fire Ashelle. Did he fire Carlyle? Did he fire PR? They resigned over certain things which they admitted, and they were not charged with any criminal offence. He said he fired persons. Way he fire them? Look, Sir James, don’t get me, look, I respect you, you held this office 16 years plus, but don’t trespass in areas, please, don’t try to rewrite history. I was involved in those issues with my friend PR and Carlyle, and I know what the facts are”.
Gonsalves said he has a fair and mature approach to this thing.
“I say, we will find out shortly what the DPP will do, and if she charges for whatever offenses, there would be a trial; if she doesn’t charge, there is no trial. And I can’t attempt in any way to influence this”.
