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CHIEF JUSTICE apologises to BLIND man who wants different Defense attorney
Wilkie Arthur
Freelance Court Reporter
#TurksandCaicos, December 15, 2023 – Some would say he was eloquent of speech as he delivered his frustrations with the justice system; Woodlyn ‘Smokey Barnes’ Victoran is blind, incarcerated and very well acquainted with his rights under the law.
Mr. Victoran has been incarcerated at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation(DCR) for the past 13 months, and on December 5, he found himself begging the Hon Chief Justice Mrs. Mable Agyemang, to help him “please!”
At the time, he said he had been in prison for 13 months and still has had no sufficiency hearing. The accused told the Court that he did not have a lawyer because he wrote to the court repeatedly; he outlined clearly the dates and times and showing – with the assistance of prison officers in the video link court room – copies of the correspondences sent by him.
The man, who said he uses his snacks as currency to pay inmates who can see and write to author his many letters.
In explaining his predicament to the CJ, he said he had so far gotten only one response from his many letters to the court, and it was saying “that I can’t pick and choose a lawyer they will assign or appoint one to me through legal aid.”
Someone obviously read that correspondence to the blind accused.
Barnes was arrested and remanded on charges related to unlicensed firearm and illegal drugs, we learned. He could be facing seven years in prison if convicted.
With the attention of Her Ladyship, Smokey cried out to the court via video link from the Department of Corrections and explained to the CJ that she seemed to be the “only judge in all this time who’s listening” to him.
Magnetic Media can confirm, the man has had several other court appearances before other judges within the year he was on remand, but was unrepresented.
The CJ told him thank you for his thorough account of events and then apologized for his wait of over a year.
The delays developed when Smokey disagreed with the choice of attorney appointed to represent his case; he wanted a different lawyer and that created the snag.
The CJ appeared very concern about his well-being as a blind person in the prison system.
It’s been said WOODLY VICTORAN aka Smokey Barnes has been in several fights in order to “defend himself” against inmates and officers when confronted. It’s also said, the man is no pushover, however, the prison is not rightly outfitted for an inmate of his need.