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The Grenada 17 were the seventeen political, military and civilian figures convicted of various crimes associated with the 1983 overthrow of Maurice Bishop's government of Grenada and his subsequent murder.
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The Grenada 17 were the seventeen political, military and civilian figures convicted of various crimes associated with the 1983 overthrow of Maurice Bishop's government of Grenada and his subsequent murder.
In October 1983, various officials of the People's Revolutionary Government (PRG) of Grenada, under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, deposed and placed under house arrest Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. Large public demonstrations followed across the country. On 19 October 1983, a large demonstration at the Prime Minister's residence led to Bishop being freed. Bishop then went with a large group to army headquarters at Fort Rupert. Later in the day, an army unit arrived from Fort Frederick and a large number of civilians at the fort subsequently died.
After the fighting, eight people were lined up against a courtyard wall at the fort for a considerable amount of time, before being shot by firing squad. The eight executed people consisted of:
After the subsequent US invasion and overthrow of the Coard Government, eighteen people were put on trial for their responsibility in the death of Maurice Bishop. On 4 December 1986, the High Court of Grenada returned death sentences against 14 individuals in the deaths of Bishop and the seven others:
Two defendants were found guilty of eight incidents of manslaughter and given 45-year prison sentences.
Andy Michell was found guilty of manslaughter and given 30 years in prison.
Raeburn Nelson was found not guilty and released.
All fourteen death sentences were subsequently commuted to prison terms.
On 18 December 2008, Hudson Austin, Colville McBarnett and John Ventour were released. The remaining prisoners were due to be released by 2010, [1] and on Friday, 4 September 2009, the final seven held in connection with the Bishop coup were released from prison. Senator Chester Humphrey described the release as a milestone in the island's effort to heal wounds from the events of 1983. "It's the end of one chapter, not the completion of the book, as Grenada tries to build a future by not living in the past," he said, according to Associated Press news agency reports on 26 January 2009. [2]
The seventeen have always maintained that they could not be held responsible for the murders of Maurice Bishop and the seven others. The accused who were in positions of authority in government and the army claim to have given no orders for the execution of the men and women. Callistus Bernard, the private who admits to organizing the firing squad and having shot Bishop, states that he "lost it". Several senior army officers present at the fort claim to have been elsewhere in the fort at the time of the executions.
Colville McBarnette, while having admitted his role in a central committee meeting he claims ordered the execution of Bishop, says that he is innocent because of the minor degree of responsibility he had in the decision.
Ewart Layne signed a confession at the time of Bishop's murder accepting sole responsibility for issuing the orders that led to the executions. Layne subsequently said that he was beaten and forced to sign the statement.
Hudson Austin had never explained his actions nor attempted to defend them.
Bernard Coard, the head of government at the time, had stated that he intended to leave the country after the protests concerning his arrest of Bishop broke out. [3]
Some have questioned the fairness of the defendants' trial. Several people have campaigned on their behalf worldwide, and a pamphlet by Richard Hart, The Grenada Trial: A Travesty of Justice (Committee for Human Rights in Grenada, 1993), gives a critique of the trial process. In October 2003, Amnesty International issued a report stating that their arrest and trial had been a miscarriage of justice. [4]
The history of islands of Grenada in the Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles group of islands, covers a period from the earliest human settlements to the establishment of the contemporary nationstate of Grenada.
The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, 100 miles (160 km) north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in military occupation within a few days. It was triggered by the strife within the People's Revolutionary Government which resulted in the house arrest and execution of the previous leader and second Prime Minister of Grenada Maurice Bishop, and the establishment of the Revolutionary Military Council with Hudson Austin as Chairman. The invasion resulted in the appointment of an interim government, followed by elections in 1984.
Maurice Rupert Bishop was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party which sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation – that came to power during the 13 March 1979 revolution that removed Eric Gairy from office. Bishop headed the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada from 1979 to 1983, when he was dismissed from his post and executed during the coup by Bernard Coard, leading to upheaval.
Winston Bernard Coard is a Grenadian politician who was Deputy Prime Minister in the People's Revolutionary Government of the New Jewel Movement. Coard launched a coup within the revolutionary government and took power for three days until he was himself deposed by General Hudson Austin.
The New Joint Endeavor for Welfare, Education, and Liberation, or New JEWEL Movement (NJM), was a Marxist–Leninist vanguard party in the Caribbean island nation of Grenada that was led by Maurice Bishop.
Sir Paul Godwin Scoon was a Grenadian politician who served as Governor-General of Grenada from 1978 to 1992. His tenure is notable for its hectic events related to the rise and fall of the People's Revolutionary Government, as well as his personal involvement and support of the invasion of Grenada.
Jon Michael Geoffrey Manningham "Tom" Adams was a Barbadian politician who served as the second prime minister of Barbados from 1976 until 1985.
The People's Revolutionary Government (PRG) was proclaimed on 13 March 1979 after the Marxist–Leninist New Jewel Movement overthrew the government of Grenada in a revolution, making Grenada the only socialist state within the Commonwealth. The government suspended the constitution and ruled by decree until a factional conflict broke out, culminating in an invasion by the United States on 25 October 1983.
Maurice Bishop International Airport, formerly known as Point Salines Airport, is an international airport located in the parish of St. George's. The town of St. George's is about 5 mi (8.0 km) north of the airport and is the capital of the island nation of Grenada. The airport is located on Point Salines, the most southwestern point of the island. It is named after former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, who championed the construction project in 1979.
Hudson Austin was a general in the People's Revolutionary Army of Grenada. After the killing of Maurice Bishop, he formed a military government with himself as chairman to rule Grenada.
The Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) is responsible for law enforcement in Grenada. The RGPF enforces criminal, immigration, and maritime laws. It is also held responsible for seaport security and fire services. With 15 police stations and 900 staff members, the force responds to over 15,000 crimes and incidents per year. The Royal Grenada Police Force also has a paramilitary force for national defense.
Grenada – United States relations are bilateral relations between Grenada and the United States. The United States recognized Grenada on the 7 February 1974, as the same day as Grenada got independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These nations formally established diplomatic relations on 29 November 1974.
Grenada is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and several small islands which lie to the north of the main island and are a part of the Grenadines. It is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 348.5 square kilometres (134.6 sq mi), and it had an estimated population of 112,523 in July 2020. Its capital is St. George's. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops.
Tillman Joseph Thomas is a Grenadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Grenada from 2008 to 2013. He was the leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) from 2000 to 2014.
The Caribbean Peace Force (CPF), also known as the Caribbean Peacekeeping Force and the Eastern Caribbean Peace Force (ECPF), was a 350-member peacekeeping force operating in Grenada from October 1983 to June 1985 after the Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury. The military intervention by the United States of America in coalition with six Caribbean nations was in response to the illegal deposition and execution of Grenadan Prime Minister Maurice Bishop on Oct. 19, 1983. Bishop's revolutionary regime was briefly replaced by a military junta composed entirely of Grenadian military officers. On October 25, 1983, the United States, Barbados, Jamaica and members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States landed on Grenada, defeated Grenadian and Cuban resistance and overthrew the military government of Hudson Austin.
Glynis Roberts is a politician from the tri-island nation of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. She is the Political Leader of the National United Front and the first female leader of a political party in Grenada. She was first elected to parliament in 2003 and represents the St George South constituency for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the House of Representatives of Grenada. The House of Representatives is the lower house of the Parliament of Grenada. It has 15 members, elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies.
The People’s Revolutionary Army (PRA) was the military of Grenada between 1979 and 1983.
The Mongoose Gang was a private army or militia which operated from 1967 to 1979 under the control of Sir Eric Gairy, the Premier and later Prime Minister of Grenada, and head of the Grenada United Labour Party. Officially, Mongoose Gang members were called Special Reserve Police (S.R.P.) or Volunteer Constables.
Jacqueline Creft was a Grenadian politician, one of the leaders of the revolutionary New Jewel Movement and Minister of Education in the People's Revolutionary Government from 1980 to 1983. She was executed in October 1983 along with Maurice Bishop, prime minister of the country and father of her son Vladimir (1977–1994).
Ann Peters is a Grenadian politician who previously served as health minister. A nurse by training, Peters has also served as a senator for the National Democratic Congress party and as president of the Grenada Nurses Association.