HGP Nightly News – Criminal negligence of sufficient severity can justify a murder charge, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has argued in defence of the prosecution of three men connected to the MV Barima disaster.
Speaking Tuesday evening on Issues in the News, Nandlall said it was within the Director of Public Prosecutions’ constitutional authority to determine whether the evidence reached that threshold.
“If the DPP forms the view that the criminal negligence was so high that it warrants the charge of murder, that is the DPP’s right,” he said.
Captain Kevin Price, Chief Mate Rondell Dwayne Roberts and Transport and Harbours Department Goods Superintendent Delon Granderson have been charged with murder and remanded to prison.
They are presumed innocent unless the prosecution proves the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
The precise legal basis for treating the alleged conduct as murder has not yet been detailed publicly. That question has driven much of the criticism surrounding the charges, since murder ordinarily requires proof of a particular state of mind, not merely carelessness or poor judgement.
Nandlall said the police investigated the disaster and sent their file to the DPP, who reviewed the evidence with her staff before recommending the charges.
“The police conducted their investigations, and they handed a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions,” he said.
The Attorney General stressed that the DPP operates independently under Article 187 of the Constitution and is not subject to instructions from the executive or any other authority.
He rejected suggestions that the government directed the prosecution, saying the recommendation reflected the DPP’s independent assessment of the evidence, relevant law and applicable judicial decisions.
Nandlall argued that investigators were justified in examining those who held direct responsibility for the ferry and its loading.
The captain exercised legal command of the vessel, the chief mate was second-in-command, and the goods superintendent had responsibility for cargo and passenger records, he said.
“The very persons who had command and legal control of the vessel—these are what you call principal offenders,” Nandlall stated.
That description represents his position. The court has made no finding of guilt or determined that the accused were principal offenders.
Nandlall also referred to reports about alleged alcohol or narcotics use among crew members and the apparent failure of some passengers to wear life jackets.
The government previously disclosed that two crew members, including the captain, tested positive for narcotics after they were rescued.
A positive test alone does not establish when a substance was consumed, whether either person was impaired at the time of the capsizing or whether it contributed to the tragedy. Those issues require supporting scientific and witness evidence.
Nandlall said the DPP would also have considered statements obtained by police and other information contained in the investigation file.
The prosecution has not yet disclosed that evidence publicly.
Attorneys and civil-society organisations have questioned whether alleged negligence could satisfy the legal requirements for murder. They have also warned against focusing criminal responsibility on the captain and other operational staff before broader institutional failures are examined.
Nandlall said those arguments could be tested before the court.
“The court can determine later on whether she is right or wrong,” he said, “but one cannot say that it is not a reasonable exercise of that power.”
The DPP has maintained that the criminal prosecution can proceed alongside the international Commission of Inquiry.
The inquiry will examine the ferry’s maintenance, seaworthiness, loading, passenger records, regulatory oversight and search-and-recovery response.
The court, meanwhile, must determine whether the evidence proves the murder charges against Price, Roberts and Granderson beyond a reasonable doubt.
