Human Rights advocate Mary Francis has called for an inquest into the police-involved fatal shooting of Eric Thomas in Laborie during the early hours of Saturday morning.
“The details are still sketchy. The police have put out a statement. But I am saying this thing has been ongoing for the longest while – use of force, police killings,” Francis observed.
She noted that according to the police statement, the deceased shot at the police.
“This raises the issue which persons have been expressing, ‘Support the police’. Yes, support the police because we need them, they are very crucial to solving the crisis, violence and so on. But at the same time, the police, to me, have actually brought that upon themselves because of the way they have been policing in the past,” the outspoken Attorney at Law asserted.
She spoke of corruption in the ranks, recalling that Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre had also recently spoken about that.
However, Francis lamented that nothing has happened over the years to correct lawlessness, corruption, and excessive use of police force.
At the same time, she paid tribute to veteran journalist Guy Ellis who passed away on Sunday night, describing him as a person of honesty and integrity.
“His passing is the end of an era because what we see now, (contrary to) the ideals he represented, is cause for concern,” Francis, the Coordinator of the National Centre for Legal Aid and Human Rights, asserted.
And Francis noted that the authorities have not finally resolved the reported extra-judicial killings of 2011-2012 and other deaths.
“Whenever there is a killing by the police, there must be accountability by the state because the police are agents of the state and there must be an inquest,” she observed, noting that it’s the law.
“These things are causing a negative impact on the minds of the citizens to lose confidence in the police force and they see them as more of an enemy than as a friend, a protector,” the Attorney at Law declared.
She also referred to the fifteen-year-old Boys Training Centre Ward charged with the murder of 78-year-old Marcellina Alexis.
“It was so sad to hear his mother crying out to the media about how she sent her son there, and government is to blame. Very, very true. We have had incidents of things happening there in the past, so it is a shame that something like that could happen,” Francis said.
“The state is entirely to blame and I think the relatives of the deceased lady have a very good case against the government in terms of negligence,” she noted.
Francis questioned how a young man with a particular disposition could breach BTC security and commit an offence.
Mary, I would like to live in your fantasy world. If someone wants to escape from a facility like the BTC, they can and will. You’re forever blaming the Gov’t. I have never heard you blame the parent(s) of the delinquent. If someone escapes from prison and commits a crime, how is the state or prison to blame? You need to blame the individual.
Mary, why haven’t you called for an inquest for all the other shootings in St. Lucia? I find you are supporting criminal activities too much here.
Mary Francis will not call For Inquest into the Other Shootings .The Father of the Decease in Laborie ask for Justice for his Son Money Involved She will always make Statements .The two women who Died up North not a Word from Her .The Body that was Discovered at Rodney Bay Marina Not a Word
If you are not going to speak up for all victims of violent crimes as well just PAY CHOU altogether. Woy.
Mary Francis is a human rights lawyer. She is not a criminal lawyer. She is not a civil lawyer. She is a human rights lawyer. This is her job. Do you criticise teachers for doing what they getting paid to do? You people are incredibly simple and highlight your abject ignorance daily for the world to laugh at.
Such a looser ..only police shootings you talk about . You continue to stay numb on all other shootings and murders..such a hypocrite you call yourself human rights lawyer .. which you are from being one . You don’t even meet the credentials to be a lawyer.
Mary, May God be with you
@lydia pierre once is the police her eyes opening wider and her ears standing up straight. but even if she still has to be on their back because the police dont mind you see them there they do people alot of wickedness and things that are not called for
Mary is earning her money as a ‘human rights’ lawyer. This is the only time she crawls out of her hole. Her only interpretation of human rights violations is police related shootings.
Mary Francis “the police brought that upon themselves”? How much more callous can you be? This statement by you can only do one thing . . . embolden the criminals. How dare you Mary, how dare you!
Is that the only time u coming out go back to bed
Mary has always been a useful idiot. She perpetuates the myth that Blacks are incapable of being terrorized. Check the murder RATE for Miami, New York, and the major European capitals. Information is available with a simple Google search. St. Lucia by far exceeds their figures.
In 2022 there were 72 murders in a population of 186,000. Murder rate 38.71. This is our own war on terror… without Guantanamo, Black Sites, and the rest. The Americans and Europeans will do ANYTHING for the security of their citizens as already proven. Imagine reporting your country to the people who ran Guantanamo, Black Sites and other nebulous facilities? What a joke!
Napoleon Bonaparte is quoted as saying, “A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.” Well, some modern day people will still do the same for medals and accolades.
When will Mary ever make a statement about the right to life of the murdered? Can’t have that. Can we? It would undermine her little “human rights” hustle. I can see Mary coming from a million miles away. I know a hustle when I see one.
Finally, when will she respect the views of St. Lucians who overwhelmingly favor capital punishment. The man in Europe knows best… according to her. Cultural imperialism on any scale.
The two political parties have failed The people . We have over 80 percent of private sector workers earning wages as low as 3 EC dollars an hour But they keep saying that young people do not want to work when they themselves will never work for such low wages we have a situation where you have to be at the passport office from 5 in the morning in a cramp up place not even a coffee that you get but public servants have coffee in their office thanks to poor taxpayers like me but keep repeating the mantra putting people first…
Mary Francis is one of the smartest individuals practicing law in St. Lucia I must say, because unlike most St.Lucians who live in a bubble she does not , she clearly realizes that any action of police which leads to the depth of a citizen/s is highly scrutinized by international bodies which promote and defend human rights and these organization can easily red flag our police force and before you know it we cannot get any supports from the US Canada, France etc. While we all live in the now she lives in the future as she already knows what may happen as it has already happen before. What is most interesting about the attacks on Ms Francis is that here we are in St. Lucia where a significant part of the population is of African decent and whose ancestors suffered over 400 yrs of slavery in which most of that time black people were not even considered to be human or at least not a 100 percent human anything really to justify treating and killing them like wild animals and here were are 2023 and I see the descendants of those same salves who now have these rights “HUMAN RIGHTS” condemning Ms Francis who fights endlessly to protect them. We shall reap what we sow as a nation.
Those that a criticising Mary really need to go back to school and learn the meaning of a human rights lawyer.
Lol @ “educate yourself”, thank you for making an attempt to educate persons on the role of human rights lawyer. Unfortunately your explanation fell on deaf ears.
She is not a civil rights lawyer, she is a human rights lawyer. We will only see her crawl from under after police killings and brutality only.
@Lol yes you really need to “educate yourself” on the human rights lawyer roll, go an read the comment again
While I appreciate what Mary is trying to do, I think she should lay low for now in the best interest of the country. There are some thugs out there who have no respect for human life. Just two days ago one was in a quarrel with a bus driver because the driver tried to stop for someone when a child was already on the seat. One thing led to another until the driver told him thing’s are expensive. His response was things are expensive but life is cheap. The rest of the argument was basically all threats and insults to the driver. There was a white couple on board who witnessed the whole scene. Too many criminals roaming the streets. Let the police take care of them. Smh
People will not understand Mary’s role until they or their family members become victims of some corrupt police officers. There’s a thin line between mistreating the criminals and mistreating the ordinary citizens. If they get away with it with the criminals, it won’t be long before they feel empowered to come after the ordinary citizens in the same manner. My issue with Mary is that she fails to emphasize the important role that the police play in protecting the citizens of this country and she seems to jump to conclusions and is quick in criticizing the police. Not all cops are bad.
@Garfield “There was a white couple on board who witnessed the whole scene.”
And what was the relevance of that sentence!?! Some of us still live in the past, the colonial past.
Ms Francis, keep spitting your truths, the dislike you receive is as a result of our peoples ignorance and corruption.
Mary is only satisfied when the person killed is a police officer. I wonder what she expects when dealing with a active shooter situation, one where the shooter is mere feet from his intended target officer. Any officer’s logical response would be to neutralize the threat at the quickest – and such action by the police more often than not results in death. I agree though that an inquest should follow as is required by law. However, the police shouldn’t be hesitant on using deadly force when the situation warrants it. Such force is enshrined in the laws of the land and the instances when it is deemed necessary and justified. Such force was made reference to in our statutes because our forefathers knew that there would have been instances when it would have been required. So what use of force is Mary talking about when the officers only had seconds to prevent the potential death of a colleague. I wonder how Mary would feel if she is the target of a criminal shooting at her and the police on the scene decided to focus on the use or force rather than taking the action required to save her life. That the police decides to use a baton rather than a firearm in their attempt to save her life. Just asking, because some of us sure live in a fantasy. The bottom line is the police will from time to time kill, more so in criminal environments as currently exists in Saint Lucia.
To this lady….only suspected gun man are human!!!! Already our police force is at an all low morale yet you still wanna push down instead of lifting them up! To all her supporters and those saying we will only know where she coming from when it hits close to home….if my friends and family break the law and have intention to do bodily harm to others just for ego….then hope police obliterate them. This lady is coocoo!