Carlos Hill should sue the State

THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE RECENTLY concluded criminal case against Carlos Hill has once again brought into sharp focus the perceived corrupt and biased practice of prosecutors and law enforcers within the Jamaican judicial system, in particular that of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

It is quite embarrassing to witness what has now seemingly become the norm for the office of the DPP and its failure to successfully bring to trial, and ultimate convictions, so-called high-profile members of the society charged with certain offences.

For the past nine years, the office of the DPP has spent millions of taxpayers’ dollars preparing for trial in the much-anticipated Carlos Hill fraud case, only for the DPP herself, Paula Llewellyn, to shock all and sundry by entering a plea of nolle prosequi in the matter.

Is it any wonder, therefore, why so many within the Jamaican society perceived the justice system as being biased and corrupt?

In arguing a case in defence of her office, the DPP stated that the case failed because of the non-attendance of vital witnesses to give evidence at the trial.

This was supposedly a criminal case brought against Mr Carlos Hill, et al, resulting from investigation carried out by the Financial Investigations Division (FID) et al into the operations of Cash Plus. Why was it so important to have persons who had invested in or have close connection to the operations of Cash Plus give verbal evidence in court in a criminal fraud case?

Why couldn’t the FID successfully work towards the conviction of Mr Hill, bearing in mind all the material evidence it had gathered in various raids carried out on the Premier Plaza offices and private residences of Mr Hill, et al.

SCAPEGOAT

It is no secret that Carlos Hill operated for several years a multibillion-dollar investment enterprise, and it is an incontrovertible fact that many of the persons who had put their money into Cash Plus (at their own risk) had benefited greatly in the very early years of its operation. On the basis of this fact alone, it would have been very difficult for the office of the DPP to successfully prosecute and prove a case of fraud against Mr Hill.

Quite frankly, I believe Carlos Hill should sue the State for all his troubles. GROSSETT BARRETT grossettbarrett@yahoo.com