After a decade of delays, the trial of three police officers charged in connection with the death of Mario Deane is finally set to begin. A jury was empanelled in the Westmoreland Circuit Court, bringing a sense of relief to Deane’s mother, Mercia Fraser, who has long awaited this moment. The case, which was transferred from St James due to procedural issues, marks a crucial step in the quest for justice. The trial is expected to shed light on the events surrounding Deane’s 2014 death while in police custody.

Mario Deane’s mother’s frustration lifted

Trial of police officers implicated in son’s death starts today

Jamaica Gleaner/4 Mar 2025/Christopher Thomas/ Gleaner Writer 

AFTER MORE than a decade of frustration as she waited with trepidation for the start of the trial of the three police officers implicated in the beating death of her son, Mario Deane’s mother, Mercia Fraser, says she is finally feeling a sense of relief after a jury was empanelled in the Westmoreland Circuit yesterday.

“It feels good, like we are going somewhere, and we are going to move on. I am really looking forward to it, looking forward to the closure and that I can go on with my life, and this is a good start,” Fraser told The Gleaner, moments after the jurors were empanelled for the case.

The trial of the three police officers, Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, is scheduled to begin today. It was put off from yesterday because another jury matter was scheduled to be heard.

Deane died on Independence Day 2014, three days after sustaining a brutal beating at the Barnett Street Police Station in Montego Bay, St James, where he was in custody, charged for the possession of a ganja spliff.

In explaining her feelings regarding the trial, Fraser, who has been staging a protest at the Barnett Street Police Station on the anniversary of son’s death, every year since the incident, said she is finally seeing some progress, which was unlike the situation in St James, where protracted procedural bungling caused the case to be transferred to Westmoreland on November 15, 2024.

“Honestly, I looked forward to this day with a lot of hesitancy, nervousness, and a whole lot of feelings, because I did not know what was going on, and I was wondering if it was going to be like in Montego Bay,” said Fraser, referring to the protracted delays of the past.

“I am here, and I feel a little more relieved that, after 10 and a half years, I saw more jurors here than we really needed. Each time being at court, it was like you have a sore foot and you stir it up more and more, and that is how it felt. But I am looking forward to putting that behind me,” added Fraser.

During Monday’s jury empanelling exercise, which was overseen by High Court Justice Courtney Daye, 57 jurors were present for the court to select participants for a sevenmember jury.

Stewart, Clevon, and Grant are charged with manslaughter, misconduct in a public office, and taking steps to pervert the course of justice, all in relation to Mario Deane’s death. Stewart and Grant are represented by attorney-at-law Martyn Thomas, while Clevon is represented by attorney Dalton Reid.

According to the allegations, the three officers were on duty at the Barnett Street Police Station lockup in St James on August 3, 2014, when Deane was reportedly beaten. Deane, who was 31 years old at the time, died at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

It is also alleged that Stewart, the senior officer on duty, ordered the cleaning of the cell where the beating took place before investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations arrived.

For feedback: contact the Editorial Department at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.