Men Spent 50 Years In Prison Without Trial
Breaking News, Weird News January 15th, 2008
80-year-old D.P.James from Shri Lanka has been released from prison after spending 50 years on delayed trial.
Arrested in August 1958 for attacking his father, he was sent to jail, than moved to mental hospital for treatment and finally went back to jail in mid-80’s, until the court had finally forgotten his case.
James, who was never put on trial, was a victim of prison bureaucracy in Sri Lanka explained his lawyer.
“James went to jail when he was 30. He has been robbed of his youth and is now a grey-haired man of 80 with failing eyesight,” Dharmavijaya Seneviratne said.
The authorities went trough his release after they noticed him last month when he became ill and needed to be hospitalized. They came across his paperwork while processing his return from a hospital in Colombo.
The lawyer said James, originally from the small village of Ibbagamuwa, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) from Colombo, did not complain about his long-running detention because he was ignorant of the law.
A court official announced that James was released last week on bail and apologized for the “rare, pathetic incident.”
“We are preparing the papers to file a case seeking compensation for $14,000 dollars ( about 280 dollars for each year spent behind bars ) and use the money to pay for his medical and other welfare bills,” Seneviratne said with hopes that the case against his client will be dismissed.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
That is so call banana counties.
January 16th, 2008 at 2:13 am
You don’t have to look to remote Sri Lanka to find lengthy pre-trial detentions. Right here in the U.S., in Gwinnett County, GA, a man named Ed Kramer with no previous criminal record has been either in jail or under house arrest for over eight years, while the Gwinnett County DA has repeatedly refused to bring him to trial, and all speedy-trial court appeals have been turned back. See the YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi2tVkQra68 or Google “Ed Kramer” and “Gwinnett”.
January 16th, 2008 at 2:43 am
280 per year? Are they kidding? First they’re exploiting his lack of knowledge about the law - now they’re exploiting his lack of knowledge about how much he’s entitled to!
January 16th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Don’t ever accuse them Sri Lankans of “rushing to judgment” when it comes to someone’s guilt or innocence! I agree with “FriedBeef” that $14,000.00 sounds a bit frugal in terms of compensation for 50 years. At a minimum they should double it!
January 16th, 2008 at 3:48 am
I really feel sorry for this poor man, but thank goodness he is alive to see the world again. No amount of money can compensate him for lost years behind bars.
January 16th, 2008 at 4:48 am
If it was America the greedy he would be going for millions
January 16th, 2008 at 5:59 am
LOL……..14K…DONT SPEND IT ALL IN ONE PLACE…
January 16th, 2008 at 6:00 am
this is what you call bullcrap!!!!!! should be 280 perday!!!!
January 16th, 2008 at 6:15 am
This is what I call OWNED!
January 19th, 2008 at 8:49 am
how can someone keep quite for 50 years, knowing that something terribly wrong is happening with oneself ???
Well i think James should have raised his voice…
Also i dont understand what the hell was his family/ relatives doing all that time ???
January 21st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Very true, but keep in mind, he was put in prison in the first place for attacking his father, so maybe his family didn’t particularly want to help him?