‘President’s order missing’

THE DOCUMENT which purportedly commuted the death sentence of convicted killer Sangit Chaitlal following the Pratt and Morgan decision in January 1994 is missing. Neither attorneys representing Chaitlal, nor those for the Attorney General can shed any light on the commutation granted by then President Noor Hassanali.

Even Justice David Myers, who is hearing a constitutional motion filed by Chaitlal, admitted, “I cannot believe it is missing. It must be somewhere,” he declared. Chaitlal filed a constitutional motion seeking a number of reliefs. He is also contending that the imposition of “natural life” with the commutation is null and void and of no effect. Dr Charles Seepersad, Mark Seepersad, and Gerald Ramdeen are appearing for Chaitlal, while Avory Sinanan SC is leading the team for the Attorney General. Hearing resumes this morning in the Port-of-Spain Fifth Civil Court. During his submissions, Seepersad (M) pointed out that he had been unable to see the commutation document which was purportedly granted by Hassanali. He then produced another document, signed this year by President George Maxwell Richards showing the Presidential Seal.

Justice Myers asked for the Hassanali document. Sinanan said his request for such instructions had not been met. “We are unable to find any document under the hand of the President. We don’t even know if it exists. But there is evidence of the commutation before you,” Senior Counsel added. Justice Myers added, “It seems that the State’s inability to produce this document puts you between a rock and a hard place. A lot of people, over the last 14 years or so, have gotten commutation. There must be consensus as to what the President does. There must be some document in existence,” the judge insisted. Sinanan responded, “We don’t know how the President does it. Maybe, Noor Hassanali does it one way while Max Richards does it another way.”

JUSTICE MYERS: But Mr Hassanali is very much alive. I don’t want to be hard on you. Those who instruct you must know what the President did.
Seepersad (M) pointed out that Hassanali wrote to the then Chief Justice Clinton Bernard advising him that he was commuting 42 convicted killers in light of the Pratt and Morgan judgment in 1993. In turn, the then Chief Justice ordered that the applicant be imprisoned for the rest of his natural life. On January 4, 1994, 42 persons on Death Row were informed by the then Registrar of the Supreme Court Sherman McNicolls that their sentences of death were commuted by the then President to a term of natural life.
JUDGE: Why did Noor Hassanali write to the then Chief Justice?
SEEPERSAD (M): I don’t know why. The then Chief Justice had no right to commute anybody.
JUDGE: I could tell you where the original of that letter is. Upstairs the third floor of this building.
SEEPERSAD (M): We have searched the files of at least ten prisoners. We can’t find it anywhere. We wrote to the Registrar, but we got no reply. Our case is that we don’t know what the President said.
JUDGE: How do I expect to resolve this? Should the Solicitor General, or the President know? Nobody has asked Mr Hassanali who is very much alive. How does a President commute somebody’s death sentence? He signed 42 of these.
SEEPERSAD (M) : Stamped!
JUDGE: There must be some file at President’s House. Somebody in Trinidad and Tobago must know what happened around this time. It was all over the place, in the newspapers. The Constitution does not tell us how it is done. The best people to tell us are those who were around at that time. There are people in the background who know. For me to decide this case, the people who were responsible for commutation must know how it is done. Now a document has gone missing, so we must know.
SINANAN: I will make a desperate effort now and see if we can get it.
JUDGE: I cannot believe it is missing. It must be somewhere.
In his submissions, Seepersad (M) said that the then Chief Justice had no jurisdiction to order imprisonment “for their natural life” for the Death Row inmates. He said that order was null and void. “My client is in prison and there is no commutation and the order for imprisoning him is null  and void.”
JUDGE: If there is no commutation and the Chief Justice had no power, the applicant should have been hanged.
SEEPERSAD (M): No, he would have been the beneficiary of Pratt and Morgan over and over. It would seem that every person who was sentenced to death should come back to the court for sentencing. There should be a sentencing court.
JUDGE: Has anyone spent a natural life in prison, except those who died from AIDS?
SEEPERSAD (M): The longest person in prison is Boodram Bedassie who has been there 32 years. The only person who died in prison is Mantoor Ramdhanie who spent seven years.
JUDGE: So, if I commute a death sentence to natural life, am I doing something unlawful?
SEEPERSAD (M): Yes, mi Lord. Natural life is a creation which breaches the separation of powers.