Will Barrow Meet with William Mason?

Williams Mason

Prime Minister Dean Barrow returned to Belize today, and by this afternoon was seated in the hot seat facing a barrage of questions on a variety of very pressing issues. Chief among those is the saga of conman, extortionist, accused kidnapper and murderer William Mason, believed to be the mastermind behind the bizarre beheading of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas. Because of the timing of the conference it’s impossible to have it all, but tonight we’ll bring you most of it, starting with Mr. Mason. He’s expressed a desire from behind bars to meet with Prime Minister Dean Barrow to hand over evidence which allegedly implicate Ministers of Government in corruption. So will the PM be taking that trip to the Hattieville Ramada to huddle with Mason?

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“Is he trying to set up an insanity defense? Because that is an insane request.”

Mike Rudon

“So for the record you will not contemplate…”

Dean Barrow

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“Absolutely not Mike, man. You must know that. That cannot be…this man is charged for murder. I am going to go sit with him where? They will bring him out of jail? Yow ah send me back dah jail fi go see ahn? I’m sorry sir; that is out of the question. That strikes me as utterly bizarre in what is already a bizarre string of circumstances. I will have no part of that.”

Mike Rudon

“I understand that part of it, but would there be a sense of responsibility on your part to see if indeed he does have this evidence which he says that he has?”

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“I am sure if he has evidence Mike; that evidence will be disclosed. He doesn’t have to disclose it to me. He could disclose it to you, to the media. I am sure you are very happy to go visit him where he is. But please, whatever evidence he says he has, let that evidence come forward. I’m not going to close my eyes to any material that might be forthcoming that will serve to clarify circumstances. I am not going to be heedless. Listen, I am not here to defend any minister who may be guilty of anything in terms of the threshold and standard that I earlier referred to. And if there is any evidence to be had in that regard, I would like to have it. And if I can in fact come into possession of that sort of evidence, you can take it to the bank that I will act, absolutely.”