The Attorney General has appealed the July 29 ruling that ordered the State to pay Frances Daniel, mother of the late Chacadan Daniel, $75,000 in constitutional and vindicatory damages over the investigation into her son’s death, which has remained unresolved for 13 years.
In a document dated September 9, filed by Nichola George-Benjamin and Rajiv Lennie, who represent the Attorney General, several claims from the earlier court case favouring Frances Daniel were challenged. This includes the order to finish the investigation into Chacadan’s death within six months. The appeal asks the court to dismiss the order, arguing that police investigations and forensic work are still ongoing.
Further, the Attorney General is seeking an appeal to dismiss the claims within the judgment entirely, inclusive of the $75,000 award, amidst requests for “an order setting aside the whole of the Judgment and all consequential orders made on 29 July 2026”.
If the entire judgment cannot be appealed, the document asks for a partial appeal of certain parts of the ruling. This includes the order to finish the investigation within six months and the $75,000 award in constitutional and vindicatory damages.
“When I got the appeal, I was feeling so sick, depressed,” Frances told St. Lucia Times during an interview. ‘I didn’t know where to turn to”.
Frances said that as soon as she learned about the appeal, her heart started racing. She worries her health will worsen.
“They said they’re going to give me $75,000, and that was money just for the amount of time they take … So I find it was very bad… for my health because I suffered a lot for 13 years; up to now I’m still suffering,” Frances added.
She is now discussing with her lawyer how they will proceed.
The Attorney General filed the appeal less than two months after Justice Alvin Shiva Pariagsingh of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court ordered the $75,000 payment, citing the State’s “prolonged failure to complete a prompt, effective and reasonably transparent investigation” into Chacadan’s death. His family was told on October 23, 2013, that he was found dead in a cell at the Micoud Police Station. A coroner’s inquest on July 24, 2015, declared his death an unlawful killing.
St. Lucia Times previously reported that the State was also ordered to complete the investigation into Chacadan’s death within six months. Failure to meet that deadline would require a report detailing what has been done, the reasons for any delay and the anticipated timeframe for completion.
The Daniel family said at the time that they saw this outcome as “a step in the right direction”.
