Nine Months Behind Bars, No Psych Evaluation

After nine months behind bars waiting for a psychiatric evaluation that never happened, twenty-seven-year-old Kareem Anderson is back home. But he returned to devastating news: his mother died while he was on remand, and his family said he did not know. The Chief Magistrate dismissed Anderson’s charges on Thursday, ruling that the court could not keep him imprisoned indefinitely without the assessment. Anderson missed the hearing because of an apparent mix-up over the court date. Authorities reportedly could not say when he would be evaluated because the government has no psychiatrist available. Anderson’s release also leaves two assault victims without a trial. His case now exposes a justice system failure that affected everyone involved: the women who never got their day in court, a defendant held for months without an assessment, and a family forced to grieve without him.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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