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| Grenada coup inmates ride out hurricane |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/20/2004 |
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As scores of inmates climbed out of Grenada's crumbling 17th-century prison during Hurricane Ivan, former Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard stayed put, along with 15 others convicted of killings in the 1983 palace coup that led the United States to invade. "I'm only leaving here when my name is cleared and I get a court order," Coard said Sept. 10, shuffling through the prison yard in sandals while others cleaned up scraps of hurricane debris. The coup plotters said they rode out the storm in the hallways of Richmond Hill Prison, telling jokes to mask their fears and trying to persuade others not to escape. Coard and other former politicians and soldiers are awaiting appeals before the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal and Britain's Privy Council. They say their life sentences were improperly handed down after the coup. The prisoners expect their appeal to be heard in November. Prison officers escorted four of the coup prisoners to check on their relatives and later returned. Four others convicted in the coup waited for officers to accompany them on similar outings. "My sister and her family, their whole roof has been blown off," said former Lt. Col. Ewart Layne, 46, holding a portable radio to hear reports. |
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