TEARS FROM PRISON

KRISHNA MAHARAJ, 65, elder brother of former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, who is serving a 53-year sentence in a Florida penetentiary for murder, wrote from behind bars, a special farewell letter to his mother Dolly Nanan Maharaj, which was read out during her funeral service in San Fernando yesterday. Because of Krishna Maharaj’s virtual life sentence (he is eligible for parole after serving 25 of the 53-year jail-term), he would not have been granted special leave from the Florida prison to attend the funeral. “We will always keep you in our memory...until we meet again,” Krishna stated in his note, which was read by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj during the service.

Dolly Nanan Maharaj was cremated yesterday. The eulogy was read by Lawrence Maharaj at his mother’s Park Street home. He read to mourners, Krishna’s note which was sent from the Florida State Prison, where Krishna is serving his sentence. Krishna is the eldest son in the family. He had been on Death Row for several years for the murders of Jamaican businessman Duane Moo Young, 23, and his father Moo Young. He faced death by lethal injection, but on March 28, 2002, at a sentencing hearing, a jury voted 11-1 for the life sentence to be imposed. Circuit Judge Jerold Hagley sentenced Krishna to two consecutive terms of 25 years in jail. He added a mandatory three years for the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime.

Dolly Nanan Maharaj died on Saturday morning at Gulf View Medical Centre. Lawrence Maharaj, in a tribute to his mother’s love for her entire family, mentioned that she recently travelled to the United States to visit Krishna at the Florida prison. Regarding his mother, Lawrence Maharaj said she strove and achieved unity in her family of 11 children. The former attorney general described her as someone who never bore acrimony. “She wore a perpetual smile on her face,” he said, “and never quarrelled with anyone.” Maharaj had cut short his trip to India where together with Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, they received awards for their contribution to the Indian diaspora. There were no members of the Opposition UNC party present at the service yesterday. Lawrence Maharaj left the party in 2000 after a bitter fallout with Panday.

The People’s National Movement, however, was represented by MP for San Fernando (West) Diane Seukeran while House Speaker Barry Sinanan and International Criminal Court Judge Karl Hudson-Phillips, also attended. Lawrence Maharaj said his mother who was a proprietress of a shop in Diamond Village, never gave up in her struggle to educate her children after her husband died. Despite difficult times, he said, his mother never refused anyone who went to her shop to seek assistance. Lawrence Maharaj apologised for not spending more time with his mother who left Diamond Village to live on Park Street. He said the demands of his life as a politician and attorney had kept him busy. He wiped away tears and was hugged by his brother Suresh, a former president of City Bank (Caribbean). Lawrence Maharaj ended his eulogy, with the words: “When I look back, there are moments when I ask myself was it worth it.”