More than a slap in the face.

Those were Pamela Green’s seven words after learning of the massive, eight-figure pay increases for legislators and other members of the political directorate, while her schizophrenic uncle, 74-year-old George Williams, continues to await compensation from the State after he spent more than 50 years in prison without a trial.

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.

“I would like to say to the prime minister or the governor general that I am asking them to put themselves in George Williams’ position. If it was you, if it was your brother, your father, your son in this situation, would you like someone to treat them the way you treat George Williams? I am just asking kindly to find some gesture, some kindness, or something within yourselves to help George Williams. He needs urgent help. Give him what he deserves,” Green told the Jamaica Observer.

Green, who underscored the squalid living conditions that her uncle returned to after prison, said the family had two mediation sessions in 2022, and Williams was offered $4 million. Green said the family declined the offer.

“What would I do with $4 million? That’s crazy. We have not had a mediation from that time. It’s really rough, but we are trying to stay strong and we are hoping for the best. I am here trying to make two ends meet. I have my four kids in Jamaica and he [Williams] is like another baby on my hands. I have to make sure he’s okay. If we get that helping hand from the Government it will be much better. Things are really, really bad right now,” she said.

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.

Just over a year after his release the Sunday Observer brought national attention to the squalid conditions in which he was living in Linstead, St Catherine, and the fact that he had not been compensated by the State.

But in recent months his family and non-profit organisation Stand Up for Jamaica noted that his health has deteriorated.

Many visits to doctors and medical tests later, the family’s finances have been depleted. And with no compensation up to this point, just a few weeks short of three years since Williams was freed, Green said it’s almost worse than prison.

“We don’t get anything. No form of compensation. We haven’t received anything from the Government and the 24th of next month will make three years since he has been released, and nothing,” Green lamented.

“When you’re poor, nobody recognises you in Jamaica. It’s like it’s just for the rich. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. That is what I see happening. So I hope something will happen very soon because it has been far too long and George needs help.”

The Sunday Observer was told that an e-mail was sent to the court registry on May 16, 2023 by John Clarke, Williams’ attorney.

The e-mail noted that Williams is in critical health, and that his situation has deteriorated significantly.

The attorney also pointed out that the primary concern is to ensure that justice is served and that Williams is given the opportunity to have his case heard before any further deterioration in his health or, tragically, before he passes away.

Last week it was revealed that the new salary adjustments for the political directorate will see the prime minister’s pay move from the current $9.169 million as at 2021 to $22.332 million with effect April 1, 2022, then to $25.267 million effective April 2023. The figure will then increase to $28.587 million effective April 2024.

The deputy prime minister’s pay will move from the current $8.031 million as at April 2021 to $20.099 million effective April 2022 and $22.7 million with effect from April 2023, then increase to $25.729 million effective 2024.

Meanwhile, the finance minister’s salary is being bumped up from the current $7.440 million as at April 2021 to $19.206 million effective April 2022, then to $21.7 million effective April 2023, after which it will increase to $24.585 million effective April 2024.

The Opposition leader’s existing salary of $8.031 million will increase to $20.099 million effective April 2022, moving to $22.740 million effective April 2023, after which it will increase to $25.729 million effective April 2024.

Last week, Green argued that a small fraction of those figures would go a far way to help her meet the expenses to keep her uncle afloat.

“You have to try and make him comfortable as best as you can. You have to get food, and the list goes on. You have to get someone to take care of him, to be there with him. And now, as he deteriorates, we have to be back and forth at the doctor with him. We had a CT (computerised tomography) scan done, we had an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) done, we took him to Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) because they were saying he was developing prostate cancer,” Green told the Sunday Observer.

“So we had to do all of those tests. We were back and forth with him from doctor to hospital, to KPH, to Spanish Town Hospital,” she added.

After that, his condition got worse. He was admitted at Linstead Hospital for over two-and-a-half weeks. At that point he wasn’t able to operate independently and had to be wearing a diaper. Green said doctors informed the family that Williams’ body was rejecting medication.

“I had to have someone who would go to the hospital twice a day to change him and stuff like that. So that is extra spending, and we had to buy stuff for him to eat because he wasn’t eating what the hospital was providing. And we still had to take him to Spanish Town Hospital to see what was happening with the prostate,” she related.

Green told the Sunday Observer that eventually she had to put him in a nursing home.

“I am in the [United] States, so I have had to put him in a home for two months now. And it is $60,000 a month for the facility, and I still have to provide pampers, buy certain stuff for him, take him to the doctor, buy medication and stuff like that. There has been a little turnaround because he has 24/7 supervision, and we are praying and hoping for the best,” she said.

The concerned niece foots the bill for her uncle, while taking care of her four children who are also in Jamaica.

“It’s a lot. It’s a lot of money. He hasn’t gotten a dollar from the Government up until now. I didn’t know it would take so long. I didn’t know this would be dragged out. I thought he would be able to get some form of closure and get a better life. He spent 50 years in prison and lost all his life and everything. He didn’t get the chance to have any kids.”

Green said the years gone cannot be reclaimed, but she had hoped that her uncle’s post-prison years would’ve at least been satisfactory. Instead, they have been unacceptable.

“So I thought the Government would do what they need to do… even to pick up the little pieces for him to enjoy the little that he has left in him. But nobody shows any form of recognition. Nothing. It’s more than crazy. It’s more than a slap in the face. It’s a blessing that he is out after 50 years because, honestly, how many people could survive in prison for 50 years? But, come on, show some form of concern. They just turn their backs on you,” Green lamented.

She admitted that considering her uncle’s age, ill health was expected, “but we didn’t know that it would happen so quickly”.

Executive director of Stand Up for Jamaica, Carla Gullotta, said Williams’ case is a “blatant example” of a lack of access to justice.

“I think the justice system is failing. The outcome of our actions has not been very successful because no support has been offered to compensate or rectify the big injustice that Mr Williams has faced. I feel fear that he might die before he can access compensation that should allow him to live the rest of his life with dignity,” she told the Sunday Observer.