GEORGETOWN – Guyana’s Acting Chief Justice on Thursday issued an order for mediation to take place into a multi-million-dollar lawsuit filed against the state by a Jamaican woman who was wrongfully imprisoned.
Darren Wade, the attorney representing Sandra Russell, 54, is seeking GUY$10 million for every day that she was in custody.
Russell spent three-and-a-half months behind bars on a marijuana conviction and on her release was handed over to immigration for deportation. However, she was detained and spent eight months in custody.
The request for mediation was put forward by the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Acting Chief Justice ordered same.
In 2018, Russell pleaded guilty to the drug trafficking charge after being found with 70 grammes of marijuana.
In her lawsuit, she complained about the condition of the prison and lock-up facilities for women and said she fell ill on a number of occasions.
She contended that she was held against her will and was also wrongfully imprisoned. (CMC)
