Justice Delayed is Justice Denied says Caleb Orozco

Caleb Orosco

In Jamaica, a trial is taking place in which former Professor Brendan Bain is challenging the University of the West Indies for wrongful dismissal. Bain was terminated after he gave expert witness statements in the trial against the Attorney General of Belize in which the Executive Director of UNIBAM challenged Section Fifty-Three of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes sex between persons of the same gender. While that trial continues, in Belize, a decision is still pending in the Caleb Orozco versus AG case.  Orozco told News Five today that justice delayed is justice denied.

Caleb Orosco, Executive Director, UNIBAM

“I will not pretend that I am psychic, and I know the mind of the Chief Justice. What I am clear about and I believe it was a particular minister who said, justice delayed is justice denied. And I am beginning to feel after seventeen months being the claimant in this case that justice has been delayed. For me this is important because here I am bringing a case to the court and for whatever reason—be it administration, shortage of personnel—I haven’t gotten a decision in seventeen months. More precisely, the delay doesn’t bring any conclusion or closure to the discussion nor does it bring any relief to the quality of life that I must lead. It is clear to me that until the state and the justice system recognize that they have a role to play to uphold the fundamental rights which is in part of the constitution that I have as a LGBT citizen, we will not get far. And more precisely I have the burden of responsibility of taking care of my personal security, I have the burden of responsibility to address harassment on the street, I have the burden of responsibility to look over my back every time I go from point A to point B because the state does not recognize my dignity or my quality of life nor does the code. And that to me is a lot of burden for just one person. Imagine the thousands who remain silent and refuse to deal with the stress that comes with asserting and defending the fundamental rights that isn’t there in our constitutional framework.”