ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada, CANA:
THE ASSASSINATION of a hospitalised prisoner in Jamaican has drawn an angry response from Grenada's Opposition Leader Michael Baptiste.
Baptiste accused Prime Minister P.J. Patterson of making a mockery of the criminal justice system.
"I think Mr. P.J. Patterson is joining with the Prime Minister of Grenada to make a mockery of the criminal justice system of our tri-island state," Baptiste said.
His criticism of the Jamaican leader over the death of accused killer Bunny Lee at a Kingston hospital stemmed from Mr. Patterson's efforts to have condemned murderer Phyllis Coard sent overseas for medical treatment.
Prime Minister Patterson wrote to his Grenadian counterpart last year asking that Coard, a Jamaican national, be granted permission to travel to Australia for medical treatment.
As a result, Coard one of 17 persons serving life for the murder of former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop - was granted a second reprieve from the Richmond Hill prison and is now believed to be in Australia.
Speaking to reporters in St. George's yesterday Baptiste accused Patterson of practicing double standards by seeking the interest of one prison over another.
"I am asking the Prime Minister of Jamaica why he did not allow that sick prisoner ... in Jamaica to accompany Phyllis Coard to Australia," the Opposition Leader declared.
"I believe it is a double standard on the part of the Jamaican Prime Minister to be asking the Grenadian Prime Minister to allow a convicted murder to travel without security to Australia," Baptiste said.
