by Colin Hyde

So, after 12 years Mr. Jared Ranguy has been found guilty of a triple-homicide, murdering three of his family members in one of the most violent nights in our history. Emotionally devastated relatives of the family whom he was charged with murdering were united in the desire to see him put away, serve the maximum time for his crimes. “Closure” came last week, and most of those who looked forward to that were exhausted by the time it came.

Roy Davis and Charles Gladden said in the Amandala “he [Ranguy] changed his attorney numerous times. Prior to Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, a total of about five lawyers had represented Ranguy at some point during his trial, including Senior Counsel Simeon Sampson, Leslie Mendez and Hector Guerra; at one point he even wanted to represent himself in court, which is not permissible for murder cases.”

We know a number of counsels for the defense did so pro bono, and we were told the last to appear for Ranguy, Godfrey Smith, also rolled in for free. It really might be altruism; of course he can afford it. Ah, borrowing a cynical bone, it might also be Smith’s most lucrative contract yet. This pro bono thing is no cash, but nowhere on the label does it say, “no kind”. Lord Ashcroft’s lawyer might be tired of dabbling into the lives of famous Caribbean leaders, or has exhausted the supply, and to fill the vacuum he might be after gathering gruesome material so he can make a play at being Agatha Christie.

Getting to the defense, reporters reported that Smith proposed to the court that his client sleepwalked through the murders. It’s not impossible. Drugs, extreme fatigue, extreme insomnia, excessive drinking, some say even a heavy fish meal late in the evening, all can turn a daytime Jekyll into a nighttime Hyde. In a very informative article, Joey Garcia, a close relative of Ranguy and the three deceased, said that Jared had worked along with them on family initiatives and “no one mentioned a sleepwalking disorder ever occurring in the family.” Joey said a sleepwalking disorder is very strange behavior, so “it’s hard to imagine that it would never have been mentioned” and that Jared had “no established medical history” with the problem.

I think that’s a fair point by Joey, but where her position is unassailable is the argument that “the introduction of a sleepwalking defense” could have considerable “impact [on] the judicial system of Belize.” Joey says, “If it persists, sleepwalking might be used for any crime in Belize without the proof required in countries where the sleepwalking defense has already been rejected.”

The Amandala story said Smith said: “One of the main things we relied on was the forensic psychiatric report of a United Kingdom forensic psychiatrist and a sleep specialist. Unfortunately, those reports could not be conclusive without having hooked up Mr. Ranguy to a sleep machine, and sleep study machines in the prison … the cost was too prohibitive. We couldn’t go that far …” Really, really, the Good Samaritan Smith is believed to be a multi-millionaire, yet the defense he pushed to exonerate his client collapsed because the price was too steep. I think we need a number here. Until then, staying cynical I will say if he was sincere he would have opened one of his vaults.

We flat out cannot afford getting into this kind of defense. Much of this case has been a waste of the court’s time. Belize, we are so impractical. It is absurd for us to be put through these contortions. Who’s paying for this? When the British handled these things here, Mr. Ranguy would have been hung within a month. Of course, we are not so barbaric.

Staying awake, the Amandala said the triple murder “was reportedly committed sometime after an argument ensued between Ranguy and Robert Vellos [one of the deceaseds] when Ranguy demanded money that Vellos had won at the casino that day.” Look, I sympathize with Ranguy: it’s not impossible that he was not in his senses when he committed those crimes. But we have neither the science nor the money to go down that lane.

Every year at the ceremony with all the pomp, our judges get scolded for the backlog of cases. And we spend over a decade on this case! Twelve sakkin years this case has been in and out of court, while other cases our courts are fully equipped to handle, were neglected. We probably deserve it ending up in theater. But, at least one person might be smiling. Mr. Smith probably has enough material for his murder mystery. Aw shucks, I should apologize. The lawyer’s got a right to his pay.

Don’t miss this water story

I get very nervous when I hear of young people near water – the sea, river, creek, lagoon, swimming pool, water holes – and I’m not around. I say, I’m not sure everyone gives water the respect that I do. So much for my nature, my water fears.

There’s this story from the US on NBC News by Daniella Silva that caught my eye: “Family of boy who drowned in a ‘borrow pit’ calls for more arrests after 10-and 11-year-old are charged weeks later.” Being on the water is fun, but it comes with some risk. People lose their lives in the water because of lack of knowledge, negligence, sheer ignorance, and malice. There are accidents too. This one’s about alleged malice.

The parents of an 8-year-old boy who drowned in a water hole in Georgia said they knew he was the victim of a malicious act because the boy was terrified of water. Silva said, “It took 55 days to confirm what Noah Bush’s family had known for weeks. His death was not an accident, as authorities had initially insisted.” Bush was out with a friend, a 10-year-old, whom he had known for some months, and another boy, an 11-year-old, whom he did not know.

Francys Johnson, a lawyer for Noah’s family, said, “At some point, they pressured Noah to go down to the borrow pit.” (A borrow pit is what is left behind when excavators remove earth for filling elsewhere or to make roads.) Silva said Johnson said “an argument ensued between the boys, and he was pushed into the water by the older juvenile.”

Ms. Silva said “Johnson described the area as a ‘tight-knit’ but impoverished trailer-home community”, and that Johnson said “Noah’s family didn’t come from any great means, but neither are the people who are accused of his manslaughter.” As with many things in the US, race is mixed into the story. Johnson told Silva that “Noah’s mother … criticized the sheriff’s office’s handling of the investigation”, and that it was her (the mother’s) “belief that, ultimately, her child didn’t matter to them.” Silva said “Noah was Black” and that “Johnson said the two boys who were arrested are white.”

Some things you never forget. I must have told you this story before, but some things need to be repeated. I say, you really can’t be too careful with children when they’re around water.

When my younger brother, Ronald, was a young teenager, he had a young friend, the son of an Indian expatriate. They both played lawn tennis, and I knew the youth because he came by our house in Belmopan a couple times. One day Ronald got a message that his friend had drowned in a swimming pool. I don’t recall where the swimming pool was; it might have been in another country. But I remember the story well. The youth was playing in the pool with friends, and they held him under the water, too long.

I am not aware that any charges were levied against the boys who were responsible for the drowning of the Indian youth. If there were, the accused would have been found innocent, as I expect the accused boys in this case in the US will be. If the 11-year-old had held Noah down in the water, he would have gotten off with a misdemeanor. It’s hard to prove malice.