No coroner’s inquest for Suicide’s killing?

12.JUNE.09

by Jamila Soso-Vincent

When Kemasha ‘Suicide’ Alexander’s mother was informed that he had been slain by Police Officers on October 16, 2008, her heart was irrevocably broken. Eight months later, her pain is being further compounded because a Coroner’s inquest is yet to be held.{{more}}

Visibly distraught, Lovedear Alexander spoke to SEARCHLIGHT about her plight. On that fateful day, Kemasha, who had a history of mental instability, absconded from the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, evading both hospital authorities and police officers. He then took a van and went to his grandfather’s house at Biabou. Lovedear alleges that although Kemasha was having a nervous breakdown, he did not approach his grandfather, Luther Simmons, in a violent manner. “My father told me that Kemasha told him he had just come to cool out and relax,” she explained.

Following a series of events, Simmons’ stepson called in the Police to remove Kemasha from the house. Upon their arrival, Kemasha became agitated, but Lovedear maintains that he was not violent to anyone. “My father told me what really happened. It’s not the way the police said!” Police Officers managed to subdue Kemasha and handcuff him, but not before he sustained a gunshot wound to each foot. Most importantly, he was still very much alive. “My father didn’t see him again after that…,” she lamented.

Kemasha was then taken to the Biabou Police Station. It is at this point that details get fuzzy. When Lovedear Alexander saw her son’s body later that night, he had multiple gunshot wounds to his face and body. The post mortem cites cause of death as exsanguination. Simply put, he bled to death. Kemasha’s mother is yet to be told the circumstances which led to him being shot so many times. “I need somebody to tell me how my son died!” she demanded.

According to the Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, as he addressed the House of Assembly at its last sitting, a coroner’s inquest should be automatic when an individual has died under sudden and unnatural circumstances. This is set out in Chapter 15 of the revised edition of the Laws of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

With the announcement that coroners’ inquests will be held in relation to the men who were killed by police officers in Vermont last month, Lovedear is understandably distressed that nothing is seemingly being done about her son’s untimely death. “My son did nothing more than have a nervous breakdown!” she complained.

Despite repeated efforts to get justice for her son, Lovedear Alexander is still in the dark about his death. She said she has contacted the police, the Human Rights Association and the Prime Minister’s Office, but she claims that nobody is giving her the time of day. “There has been no justice. Nothing! He left a 5-year-old son behind… nobody at all seems to care about this child!”

When SEARCHLIGHT contacted the Director of Public Prosecutions Colin Williams, who has the authority to call a coroner’s inquest, he declined to comment on the matter.

Lovedear Alexander is determined not to rest until a Coroner’s inquest is held, because unless that happens, she won’t be able to have any closure. She also purports that there is more to Kemasha’s death than the public is being told – that his death was the result of a personal vendetta against him, and his mental instability is being used as a cover. She further alleges that her father told her that police officers coerced him into stating that Kemasha had come to rob him, when he (Kemasha) really had not. “I need the Prime Minister to get some kind of investigation going so that I can explain myself and let everyone know the truth about what is going on!”

Lovedear also claims that she has been receiving phone calls threatening to seriously harm her if she voices her suspicions. “Several time he’s been calling my number from an unknown number… I recognize his voice.”

The question that hangs in the air is the same one that Lovedear has been asking since her son was killed – Why hasn’t there been a coroner’s inquest? As she blinked back tears, Kemasha’s mother vowed to keep asking that question until she gets an answer. She refuses to be silenced. “Why can’t they be fair with me? What did Kemasha do to deserve this?”