Calls for Marijuana cases dismissed
permanent
memorials
parliament and other places. Among
the fatalities was legislator Leo Des
Vignes. PM Robinson survived the shot
to the leg.
President of Trinidad and Tobago,
Paula-Mae Weeks said she fears future
generations will either forget the events
of 1990 or fall victims to romanticized
versions of what had transpired. Therefore,
she argues, “I call for a proper and
fitting annual national observance to
commemorate the attempted coup and
today I renew that appeal. This dark
chapter of our history merits a permanent
memorial that would capture the
horror and chaos of those six days with
appropriate images, testimonials and
historical information. Such a museumquality
display would reliably impart to
present and future generations, the
events, causes and consequences of the
attempted coup d’état.”
Yasin Abu Bakr has in the past talked
about having no regrets of the events
on that fateful day and the hours after,
even as soldiers and policemen, still
angry with him to this day, long for
the moment to put him behind bars for
July 1990.
IN SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS AWARDED ANNUALLY
Caribbean L 14 ife, JULY 30-AUG. 5, 2021
The Newsday newspaper, meanwhile,
quoted independent lawmakers Paul
Richards and Varma Deyalsingh as both
backing calls for permanent memorials
for the youth of today and tomorrow.
“This country suffered immeasurable
loss of lives, economic progress and
international reputational damage as a
result of the terrorist attack against our
democracy by a group of terrorist who
are yet to acknowledge their misdeeds
and hurt inflicted on this country,”
Richards said.
Deyalsingh noted that “people still
feel a sense of injustice when they see
some of the main players pampered by
politicians across the divide.”
Continued from Page 1
included an automatic expungement
provision.
Since its passage, he said his office
has moved to dismiss open cases, stating
that he will no longer bring pending
marijuana charges before grand or
petit juries.
“Today, I asked the Court to dismiss
over 3,500 warrant cases that remained
in the system, effectively clearing the
Brooklyn docket from these vestiges
of previous models of policing and
prosecution,” Gonzalez said. “I hope
that these actions will help strengthen
community trust in the justice system,
and allow us to continue moving forward
with more fairness and equity.”
The Brooklyn District Attorney on
Tuesday appeared before Brooklyn
Criminal Court Judge Keisha Espinal
and requested that 3,578 pending
marijuana cases be dismissed and that
the court vacate any relevant arrest
warrants, judgments of conviction and
guilty pleas related to those cases.
Gonzalez said his office has been
leading the city in marijuana decriminalization.
His predecessor, the late
Ken Thompson, stopped prosecuting
marijuana possession cases in Brooklyn
in 2014.
In 2017, Gonzalez, as the acting DA,
went further and declined to prosecute
nearly all marijuana smoking cases
as well.
As a result, he said marijuana
arrests in Brooklyn, which numbered
in the thousands every year earlier in
that decade, had slowed to a trickle
by 2018.
In September 2018, Gonzalez moved
to vacate over 3,000 summons warrants
for marijuana possession and
dismissed the underlying cases.
In December of that same year, he
moved to dismiss over 1,400 criminal
court warrants.
His office also initiated a program
to erase and seal old marijuana convictions,
and Gonzalez urged Albany
to clear those convictions en masse
through legislation.
Currently, Gonzalez only eight cases
that include marijuana charges remain
in Brooklyn Criminal Court; they
involve allegations of driving while
impaired.
In the Brooklyn Supreme Court,
marijuana charges that are included
in more serious felony cases will be
dismissed in the course of court proceedings,
and those charges will not
be brought before any jury, Gonzalez
said.
He thanked the Office of Court
Administration, especially Antonio
Diaz, acting chief clerk of New York
City Criminal Court, and Charles
Blaha, acting borough chief clerk of
Brooklyn Criminal Court, for facilitating
the dismissals.
Continued from Page 1
President of Trinidad and Tobago,
Paula-Mae Weeks. Offi ce of the
President, Trinidad & Tobago
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