Family Upset at Bureaucracy in Judicial System

Daniel Tillett

The family of Gabrel Tillett, whose mutilated body was discovered in the Lord’s Ridge Cemetery on July fourth, is upset over the bureaucracy within the judicial system. They say that on the day they learned of Gabrel’s death, his brother, Daniel Tillett was detained by police and later charged with being a member of a gang.  But their efforts at the courts to secure permission for Daniel’s release to attend his brother’s funeral were futile. Today, Daniel’s sister, Genay Stewart, told News Five that aside from the grief of having to bury a loved one, they were also given the run-around and were still not successful in their efforts to assist the other sibling. 

Genay Stewart

Voice of: Genay Stewart, Sister of Daniel and Gabrel Tillett

“Wednesday morning I gone da the prison and da mi wa whole lot turn around because dehn di seh that, oh, this, young man convicted, then the other prison officer said, no, he’s not convicted. So we have to go to the Supreme Court fi give wa submission fi the day fi get out for the day for the funeral. So I come down back da the city da the Supreme Court, and when I get to the Supreme Court, the man weh I talk to tell me that how da nuh dehn fi do it. I supposed to go to the Magistrate Court, like how my brother deh pahn remand still, all the files still deh over da Magistrate’s Court, so I need fig oh deh fi apply for it. When I get to the Magistrate Court now, the lady tell me that, you know, he cannot be removed from the prison unless it’s for a court hearing, so I da like “Miss, but I get advice to come ya,” you know. Yes, I understand ih wa come out with the guards or the police or whatever, who will bring ah out. We understand all of that, but we think is, you know, all ah we mi really close from ever since and I think ih mi really sad and unfair that dehn neva mek ih come out fi ih bredda send-off, you know. And with all of this, I think they had me round and round and round and round Wednesday before somebody does finally come out and say that yoh can’t get ah out for the funeral. I think that mi so unfair and, you know. It just neva mek no sense to me because, you know, from the get go, they shall me say, you know, something is, you know, can’t do that, they’re not sure it work or whatever. I mean, I mi wa understand that, but fi dehn have me round and round and round di try – I have my hopes up that, yes, we wa get ah out fi the funeral at least, ih nuh fair none at all.”

Marion Ali

“Have you spoken to him since? How is he doing?”

Gabrel Tillett

Voice of: Genay Stewart

“The day when I mi gone da the prison, Wednesday, I mi get wa visit. Ih tell me how dehn neva even want to give him a phone call to call home. Ih seh that how dehn have ah eena wa building round lone guys weh nuh like ah, and then they have ah eena wa cell right across from the young man dehn weh get charged for the murder of Gabrel.”

Marion Ali

“Are they threatening him or intimidating him?”

Voice of: Genay Stewart

“They were provoking him. He she dehn mi di provoke ah and I ask him, so why how you say, you say, Janine, I feel like I get crazy back here. He say he prefer go eena the hole soh he nuh have to see dehn.”

Marion Ali

“Have you brought this to prison officials’ attention?”

Voice of Genay Stewart

“No, because when we mi di try fi get all the preparations done for the funeral, soh I couldn’t talk to nobody else or nothing like that.”

Marion Ali

“But you intend to?”

Voice of: Genay Stewart

“Yes, I intend to, yes. He said he know that he wa beat his charge. He said you know something, if I mi di give trouble, if I mi di threaten somebody, I mi wa understand why they lock up me.”