Pamela Green was elated on Thursday after learning that the Supreme Court had awarded $120 million in damages to her uncle, 76-year-old George Williams, who had spent 50 years in prison without a trial before being released in June 2020.

“Oh my God,” an emotional Green said as she tried to compose herself during an interview with the Jamaica Observer shortly after the judgment was made public.

“Hopefully when the money is paid we can buy a house and get him a private nurse where he can be around his nieces and nephews and brothers and stuff like that. We want him to enjoy a little of nature and some sightseeing. There is nothing much he can do right now because he is weak in the feet and he has a little mental illness here and there,” said Green.

She shared that the family had been looking forward to him receiving compensation somewhere in the region of $300 million; however, they were grateful nonetheless.

“At least he will be around his family. Sometimes when you are around your family it is like a breath of fresh air for you, where you can be more comfortable. He can get some physiotherapy and regular massages. We are going to take the best care of him. We are happy. As I said, the package could be better, but we are still grateful. It could have worked out where he didn’t get anything at all, but we are grateful,” she said.

Williams was 20 years old when he was arrested and charged with the murder of a man in July 1970. He was declared unfit to plead, but was still held in prison.

Williams was freed when the case against him was dropped by the State on June 24, 2020 after it was brought up for review following national outcry over the death of 81-year-old Noel Chambers, who had been in custody for 40 years without trial.

On Thursday, the court ruled that he is to receive $42 million for vindicatory damages and close to $79 million for compensatory damages.

He has been living in squalid conditions at a dilapidated house in Linstead, St Catherine,

Green told the Observer that the family had waged a relentless fight to get him out of prison since she was a child.

She said that Williams’ mother tried repeatedly to get her son out of captivity but she died in 2008. That, however, did not stop the fight for his freedom.

“His mother raised me and she was fighting hard for his release. After she died, myself and my uncle Alwyn Jones have been fighting the case since. We went to the relevant authorities seeking help and advice. We talked to lawyers but we weren’t successful until Stand Up for Jamaica got the idea that George was there for such a long time and jumped on the case,” Green said.

“He was released within two weeks. I have to say that we really appreciate Stand Up for Jamaica and Miss Carla Gullotta, attorneys-at-law Isat Buchanan and John Clarke. Big up Mr John Clarke, you fought with us to the end and we appreciate the love. We are grateful for the award and we will make the best use of it and take care of George until the Lord is ready for him. Right now, he is in a home for the elderly, where he is being taken care of,” Green shared.

On Thursday, YouTube personality and record producer Claude “Big Stone” Sinclair, who had visited Williams after his release from prison and made a donation to him, also expressed pleasure with the court award.

Sinclair described the initial offer of $6 million made to Williams a few years ago as disrespectful.

“To see that I was part of the process it makes me feel honoured. We have a lot more work to do because there are more George Williamses left behind bars that we have to get out. Sometime ago he was offered $6 million and I looked at it and said it was really a high level of disrespect. If a man is incarcerated for 50 years, and came out at 71, not in his right mind, the least they could do for this man is given him $1 million for every year he spent in prison,” Sinclair said.

“To hear now that he was awarded $120 million I am very elated. I hope that the family will put that money to the best of use and make sure that George Williams’ final years are years of love and dignity. I think he deserves that. He should get the best caretaker, best living conditions, and the best of everything because he is the one who suffered those 50 years,” he added.

Gullotta, the executive director of Stand Up for Jamaica, the human rights organisation that was an instrumental force behind Williams’ release, told the Observer that a lot work went into securing the kind of judgment that was handed down on Thursday.

“We learned about George and the fact that he was detained for a long time with some mental challenges. I remember the last day of the trial, which was held in Spanish Town, he was sitting on a bench and he was totally lost because he didn’t know what was going on around him. There was Isat Buchanan, there was myself, and the director of public prosecutions,” Gullotta said.

“George was looking around and asking where he was and if he could get a beer and if he could go for a walk. You could see how much life was going away from him. We have to say a huge thank you to the attorneys Isat and John Clarke. They have been working pro bono. We have been spending some money for expenses, but most of the activities were done pro bono,” she said.

“George, I must say, was very lucky because he has a good family and one that cares about him. They took him back home and took care of him. Stand Up had been helping with expenses to set up a place for him, but his brother and niece have been extremely loving,” Gullotta said, adding that Williams is now very sick, unable walk, and has failing memory.

She said she doesn’t believe he will have much time to enjoy the award, but she hoped that at least he will get the best assistance in his last years.