A mentally challenged man, associated with a stone-throwing incident in Point Michel, walked out of the courtroom free on Tuesday but not before Magistrate Gloria Augustus expressed doubt over his fitness to plead.
Kurt Jno-Baptist, 25, admitted to breaking the law “at times” but denied the charge of throwing missiles.
According to the facts of the case from the police prosecution, on May 17, the defendant unlawfully threw bottles in a Point Michel bar belonging to Marina Andrew. When he was approached and arrested by police he did not answer any questions posed.
Baptist, appeared in court earlier this month, where he mumbled throughout the proceeding before Magistrate Ozzie Lewis. “They say is people that spoil him,” Kurt’s mother told Magistrate Lewis, while wiping tears from her eye during a mid-June appearance, where she took the stand and provided the court with an insight of her son’s behavior at home. She pointed out the defendant also pelted stones at the house they share on a consistent basis.
“I cannot send this boy to prison but I cannot send him home,” Magistrate Lewis decided on June 17, before making the decision to send him to the Psychiatric Unit.
At that time, Magistrate Lewis expressed frustration over the content of the letter from the unit which indicated that the defendant was “mentally fit to plead” and should be “held accountable for his action.”
According to Magistrate Lewis consistency of statements from the psychiatric unit appears to be less a diagnosis of the patient’s condition and more a repetition and photocopy of past letters sent from the psychiatric unit about the mental health conditions of all defendants whom the court refer for psychological evaluation.
During the Tuesday’s proceedings the defendant stared at Magistrate Augustus and remained silent or mumbled partial responses when questioned about the stone throwing incident.
“This letter says you are fit to plead and you are pretending to be psychologically challenge to avoid prosecution,” Magistrate Augustus told the defendant while cautioning him and then making the decision to send him home.
If I remember correctly,I heard a story with similarities to this one,he told the person that he is god ,,,, someone need to do something to stop this from happening
Oooops this comment was for the article about the lady who was locked up in the ” crazy house” sorry
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he mentally ill that is nonesence mista is a troublesome man somebody will stretch him
Since he walked free and is back home let us see how he will conduct himself. If he continues to throw items then he should be returned to the mental institution. Should this occur, may the authorities not write a letter and state that he is fit to stand trial.
I have empathy for his mother. Poor lady, as a mother she is hurting. She needs to pray fervently for her son that he may overcome this impediment.
Dominica was once predominantly Catholic until the infiltration of those who decided to come to Dominica and establish their own religion which has caused some Dominicans to renounce their Catholic faith. I hope she is not one of them.
Lady, practice the faith and ask Our Lord to help your son. He is in dire need of God’s blessing and graces.
Everytime someone is sent to the Unit for assesment the report returns the same. everyone cannot be the same
Many thanks DNO. It only takes a minute to proof-read it. Always keep up your very high standard of excellence.
I hope that the magistrate chastised the Psychiatric Unit employees who see it fit to provide this kind of evidence. She should have ordered that the Unit present proper evidentiary basis for their disclosure. It’s a damn shame that the judge has to say that the letters look like photocopies of past letters.
This does not constitute fairness – if the evidence of the Psychiatric Unit is what is depended on to make an assessment as to whether someone is fit or not.
And to Admin – the man did not baffle the judge – the judge was evidently astute enough to see that the man was unfit…its the evidence of the Psychiatric Unit which baffled the judge.
According to Magistrate Lewis, in relating to the consistency of those statement from the psychiatric unit, they appeared to be less a diagnoses of the patience condition and more a repetition and photocopy of past letters sent from the psychiatric unit about the mental health conditions of all defendants whom the court refer for psychological evaluation.
This is a very interesting statement. It exposes what we have been saying about the psychiatric doctor/politician. He has no time to properly evaluate and diagnose patients so he has a standard letter. Anyone who comes to him through the courts is competent to stand trial. You moron!!! Don’t you have a conscience? Take the time to evaluate and properly diagnose and treat people. That is what our tax money is for.
Next time i go court i going to mumble, valley rat need a second chance.
@Valley Rat….Do u think you should want to go go court a “next time”???
PRISON IS NOT THE ANSWER FOR THE MENTALY ILL
PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM WHEREBY THE MENTALLY ILL ARE LEFT TO ROAM THE STREETS OF ROSEAU BEING A DANGER TO THEMSELVES AND TO OTHERS.
PRISON IS NOT THE ANSWER. SAFE FASCILITIES FOR THE MENTALLY ILL IS THE ANSWER. ITS TIME THAT DOMINICANS BEGAN PROTESTING FOR THE SAFE HOUSING OF THE MENTALLY ILL.WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY DOING ABOUT THIS GROWING PROBLEM. MENTAL ILLNESS IS NOT A CRIME. ALLOWING THE MENTALLY ILL TO RAOM ABOUT UNPROTECTED AND EXPOSE TO DANGER IS.
@ Anonymous
They may be sent to a mental home or psychiatric ward but they could still escape and create havoc.
I reside in a country and in the area where I work downtown some blocks away there is a hospital which also housed mental people. I recall seeing some people on the downtown streets at noon, some blacks too who would be talking loudly and carrying on. Someone told me that they escaped from the hospital.
Is the mental institution safe enough to deter them from running away and causing harm either to themselves or others and their property?