The formal inquests into the deaths of two persons that were held late last year were recently published.  An inquest is by law required when there’s an unexpected death.  The objective is to establish the identity of the person who died, as well as the time, place and manner in which the person died.

One inquest into the fatal accident of Kelvin Aymer (formerly of Davy Hill) which took place on June 29, 2011 was examined. Aymer was killed while cycling his grey byke northwards down the Brades main road in the vicinity of Farara Plaza; he collided with the driver of a motor vehicle – Hubert Williams of Manjack. The hearing took place on November 17 and 19, 2013.

The Jury unanimously held that the death was accidental and noted that:

“1. Notwithstanding the measurements and the evidence given we are unable to ascertain the point of impact because

[a] There were no official police photographs or sketch maps.

[b] There is suggestive information that the accident scene may have been compromised

2. The lack of skid marks may also be indicative of

[a] The speed travelled uphill was too slow to create skid marks if brakes were applied.

3. We are unable to determine whether Williams was distracted and while he may have failed to keep a proper look out we do not believe we have enough evidence to ascertain such.

4. It is our belief that while Williams may have cut out the bends, he was still on his legal side of the road.

5. It is questionable whether the deceased was on his legal side of the road; however there is no evidence to suggest same.

6. The lack of result from any tests carried out on the blood sample from Mr Williams makes it impossible to determine if the legal limit has been surpassed. Further while there is evidence from Dr Kassim of smelling alcohol, because it is not known if or when Mr Williams may have imbibed, lack of sufficient evidence makes it difficult to determine whether Mr Williams’s judgment may have been impaired.”

The jury, lead by foreman Raymond Cabey, also made the following recommendations (most of which are already legal requirements):

We recommend that all cyclists must register and licence pedal cycles with the licensing authority on an annual basis with lights to the front and rear;

We recommend that night use of cycles must result in the cyclist wearing reflective clothing;

We recommend the use of helmets and requisite pads 24/7 once using a cycle on a road;

We recommend that the police provide road safety lessons in schools and the community indicating to cyclists that they must adhere to the rules of the road;

We recommend that it be made mandatory through appropriate legislation that all persons involved in motor vehicle accidents provided breath, urine and blood samples for analysis for alcohol or drugs and that the police disclose the findings to the appropriate authorities;

We also recommend that from here on once there is a motor vehicle accident resulting in death the police must take photos develop same and produce a sketch map for use in a Coroner’s Inquest, Magistrate’s Court or High Court proceedings.”

The second report recently published was that of an inquest into the death of prisoner Thomas Andrew of St. John’s was also published.  Andrew who was an inmate at the time died under questionable circumstances and amidst allegations of negligence by Prison Officers.  Andrew who was 69 years old was convicted for theft and imprisoned in April 2012 to three months.  Sixteen (16) days prior to his release he was found dead in his cell.

According to reports reaching The Montserrat Reporter at the time, his death came as no surprise to other prisoners who felt that Thomas was neglected and mistreated by prison officers.  We note that, while several prisoners knew the circumstances intimately, surrounding his death only one prisoner was called to testify.

The inquests held over two days, November 11 and 22, 2013, with the Jury lead by foreman Owen Lewis, found that Andrew died of natural causes and recommended among other things, that:

All prison officers and first responders receive further training in first aid and also receive continuous training throughout their career at HMP- as a matter of urgency;

All prison officers and first responders receive training and MUST qualify every two years in basic [and some officers advanced] CPR – as a matter of urgency; and

Whenever a prisoner does not eat food or drink water/juice, that he is monitored and advice taken from a qualified medical doctor if he/she misses more than two meals a day, and an accurate record is kept of ANY prisoner who do not eat/drink an adequate supply of food/water.

The Coroner, Mr. Robert A. Shuster recommended to the prison authorities “that the cell nearest to the prison control room be established and used to exclusively house and take care of any prisoner who reports that he/she is ill.”