| – Relatives dub compensation inadequatePresident Donald Ramotar gives the report to the OppositionOrlando Lewis is now nineteen years old, out of school, and without a job. His dream was to attend the University of Guyana this year, but he cannot do so because of financial constraints.Orlando, and his elder brother, Rodwell Lewis, lost their father, Allan Lewis on July 18,Air Max 98 Gundam Release Date, last year, on the first day of what was to be a five-day protest against the proposed electricity hike for Linden.Allan Lewis, Shemroy Bouyea and Ron Somerset were reportedly shot and killed by Police that afternoon at the Mackenzie end of the Mackenzie/Wismar bridge.A commission of Inquiry (COI) was subsequently established to look into the matter, and to determine compensation, to families of the deceased, as well as several persons who were injured.According to information coming out of the COI findings, which were handed over to President Donald Ramotar on Thursday, relatives of Allan Lewis and Shemroy Boyea will receive $3 million each in compensation, while Ron Somerset’s relatives will be given $1million.Daphne Lewis, the mother of Allan Lewis, said, “It cannot compensate and its definitely not fair, I lost my son, and his children lost their father,NCAA Basketball Jerseys, who used to do his best for them- he did the best he could for everybody; that money is definitely inadequate.”Mrs. Lewis, who is now 80,Cheap Nike Air Max 90 Mens, and who depended mostly on her son, Allan,Air Max 90 Black And White, for her upkeep, told Kaieteur News that things are now really hard.“Right now, with this rainy weather,Nike Air Max 95 Sale, the house leaking bad; it wetting all the bed I have to sleep on. Allan had a lot of plans; he was going to look after the roof and fix the house, if he was here it would have been done already”She added that when it rains really heavily, she has to lie on her bed and cover with plastic, so as not to get wet.Her grandson, Orlando, said that life has been ‘tough’ since his father died. He has had to shelve his plans to attend the University of Guyana, for the time.His brother, Rowell, attends the institution, but his aunt, Denise, said that it is really hard, because Rodwell has to depend on the family to assist him.“I try my best, but I can only do so much, because I’m not working, I only having a little business selling phone cards- so we facing a lot of pressure.”Both Denise and another sibling said that the money is inadequate.Leonard Bouyea, said that his nephew Shemroy Bouyea, was 25 at the time of his death, and as such had his whole life ahead of him.“His life gone,Cheap Jordan Shoes For Sale, it was snuffed out, and no amount of compensation could bring him back. His life was worth more than that. Anyhow I’m at least thankful for his mother,Cheap Adidas Superstar, who works as a security guard, and is a single parent.This newspaper was unable to reach the relatives of Ron Somerset for a comment. And Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes has deemed the compensation for slain men’s families ‘outrageous, provocative’He expressed outrage at the financial compensation that members of the Linden Commission have recommended for the families of the three men who were shot dead during the July 18, 2012 protests at Linden.In the approximately 80-page report, the Commission recommended $3M each for the families of slain Lindeners, Shemroy Bouyea and Allan Lewis, and $1M for Ron Somerset’s family.In contrast, the Commission awarded $1.5M each to two of the civilians who were wounded by pellets on July 18. This is $500,000 more than the family of the slain Somerset will receive.The Commission also noted that these are ex-gratia payments, meaning that the Government is under no legal obligation to pay.Hughes, who had represented the relatives of the deceased during the Commission of Inquiry, said that while he has not received a copy of the report, he has read “what appears to be the report” on websites.“It is absolutely appalling to the extent of being provocative. The fact that someone would think that the life of a citizen who was shot unjustifiably by the police is worth $1M is absolutely outrageous to the point of being provocative,” the attorney told Kaieteur News.“The Commission awarded more money for property loss than for the life of a citizen where there was the unjustified use of lethal force,” he added. The attorney also vented his outrage on facebook.“In circumstances where the police use unjustified lethal force on the citizens of Linden, the Commission of Inquiry finds that the life of a person (Ron Somerset) living in a depressed community is only worth $1 million. Some justice.”But the attorney said out that the compensation suggested by the Commission is only a recommendation, and added that one would expect that the government would multiple “by eight to ten” the sum that has been awarded to the families of the slain men.In its report, the Commission concluded that Members of the Guyana Police Force were responsible for the deaths of Shemroy Bouyea, Allan Lewis and Ron Somerset, as well as injury to other civilians on the day that protesters blocked the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge.“We believe that the police were responsible for the shooting to death of the three persons as well as the injuries caused to several other persons at Linden on July 18, 2012, as there is no evidence that anyone else had a firearm which was discharged,” the Commission concluded.“It seems to us that ASP Todd was somewhat reckless when he discharged four rounds of ammunition in the direction of the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge when there were hundreds of persons on the Bridge and in the vicinity thereof. |
