Nora Parham, “Correcting the Historic Wrong”

Nora Parham

As to the historic wrong that Cabinet is seeking to correct, Minister Garcia says no right thinking member of society today would have wished for Ms. Parham to be convicted. Minister Garcia contends that a decision today would have seen a different outcome.

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development

“First of all, even if Ms. Parham had been guilty of the crime she was accused of, still the judge at the time, as well as jury members at the time who were all men; they recommended what you would call clemency. But, you know, when you look at the facts of the case as reported, and please none of us were there in the court room back in 1963, but when you look at what is reported to have happened, I don’t believe that right thinking members of society today would have wished for Ms. Parham to have been convicted. And, we know as a matter of history that thousands of people wished for her to be given clemency at the time. Unfortunately, it was a colonial government administration under the Governor Sir Peter Stallard and despite all the pleas for clemency, those pleas were turned down and Ms. Parham was sent to hang. So, the wrong I think was that when we look at the horrible domestic violence that Ms. Parham suffered, when we look at all of that, I believe that today a decision could have been different. We cannot bring back Ms. Parham, but what we can do is write a wrong in the best way we can at this time.”