THE nation is still reeling from the shocking news that St James resident Mario Deane was arrested for possession of a spliff and later died from severe beatings suffered while in custody. Surely the outrage is justified.

While it is true that Deane could have also been held for the use of so-called indecent language and any other minor offence and placed in custody, in this particular instance it was for an offence that attracts a $100.00 fine. That should have been the cost Mr Deane paid for the possession of a spliff as the law mandated. Nowhere in the legislation does it say the penalty for possession of a spliff is capital punishment.

I met with the mother of Mario Deane, a graceful dressmaker, eloquent and dignified, and whose only wish is for justice to be served and for this not to happen to another person while on this 4,411 square miles of land we call home. At that moment, talk of monetary compensation was farthest from her mind. For, what sums could replace the son that she gave birth to 31 years ago.

I met and spoke, too, with Mario’s sister, a petite lady, whose small frame belies the grand dreams she has as she continues to pursue a PhD in molecular biology in the United States. Words could not adequately convey her pain and, she, too, does not want Mario’s death to be in vain.

Mario was an employed Jamaican whose only adverse association with the law occurred on August 3, 2014 while he was on his way to work and in possession of a spliff clearly for recreational purposes. I would much rather have learnt that he died from lung cancer than such a severe beating. As I reflect on the circumstances, I wondered aloud, would a man who was receiving such severe blows to the head not have raised his arms to protect himself? Unless of course his arms were restrained.

His mother said the only visible injuries were to his head to the point where it was so severely swollen that she barely recognised the boy she carried in her womb for nine months and raised to be a productive member of society. The wounds were so severe that he died three days later on the very day that Jamaica was celebrated Independence. She told us that she will never be able to wear her national colours again until there is justice for her son.

The reports are varied. He fell from the bunk in his cell at the Barnett Street Police Station which, unlike the station in Falmouth, does not have cameras — which were used recently to disprove a similar tale. This quickly was seen as improbable, so the new version is that he was beaten by cell mates, two of whom have been said to have mental challenges, and the third a deaf mute.

The mother of one of the accused men indicates that he has had serious mental issues for many years and was, in fact, in a facility for his care in Montego Bay. She expressed surprise that he was in the custody of the police, and says she is sure that he did not participate in the murder of Mario Deane while in the custody of the police. Despite his legal troubles, I am sure she is still grateful that he did not fall from a bunk nor was he beaten to death by cell mates as Mario Deane allegedly was. She probably now, however, continues to fear for his safety

Bail denied

We are told by the surety who had gone to bail Mario Deane — since he was not given bail in his own recognisance — that the bail process was immediately aborted after Mario uttered some comments about not liking police and he was told to return at 5:00 pm.

The police say his version is not correct. Their suspension of the bail process was because neither the man who was in custody for the first time in his life for ganja possession and on his way to work, nor the surety who left his home with documents including the letter he had gone to the justice of the peace to get to facilitate bail, was very cooperative.

If the beating of Mario by prisoners is to be believed, then it seems he must have really angered his cell mates in the short period of time that he was placed in a cell with individuals who were mentally ill. This, too, seems to be a worrisome issue. I am sure the policies of the police are clear that individuals with certain illnesses ought to be separated from others. I wonder how many prisoners were in lockup at the Barnett Street Police Station on Sunday, 3rd August. My visit there on Monday with Leader of the Opposition Andrew Holness, spokesperson on foreign affairs Edmund Bartlett, spokesman on justice Derrick Smith, and numerous other members of the JLP did not reveal overcrowding, confirming that Mr Deane could have been placed in another cell. Nay, ought not to have been placed in a cell.

Administratively, it must cost the Government more to arrest, charge, process, and go to court for a $100.00 fine, than the fine itself. Perhaps the true worth, or lack thereof, could be better shown if the fine were quoted in US cents. And when we look at the resulting actions or inactions of the police the cost is going to be far more. When we consider that if the police are found to be culpable through their intention, negligence or administrative mishandling of the bail process I am forced to ask the question what is the value of justice?

When one considers that taxpayers may have to pay for the hiring of an independent pathologist, funeral expenses, and compensation for the victim’s family, I ask what is the value of justice? And if police officers are shown to have failed to exercise due diligence or otherwise and are prosecuted, the question still is, what is the value of justice?

Unfortunately, as the country weeps and expresses outrage, and as the family mourns the loss of Mario they know that the value of justice can never be measured in dollars and cents. They have borne the ultimate loss. The wrongful loss of Mario’s life.

Harold Bruce Malcolm is a human rights Attorney-at-Law and the deputy spokesperson for justice of the Jamaica Labour Party.