LETTER: Justice for Some, Punishment for Others? Serious Questions Must Be Answered

Dear Editor,

The recent withdrawal of charges against Canadian national Roselynee Crisostomo has left many Antiguans deeply disturbed and asking difficult questions about fairness, justice, and equality before the law.

This is a woman who was allegedly caught arriving at V.C. Bird International Airport with 61 vacuum-sealed packages of cannabis weighing more than 67 pounds and valued at over EC$536,000. The matter was treated as extremely serious from the very beginning. She was denied bail, remanded to prison, and prosecutors argued she was a flight risk because she had no ties to Antigua and Barbuda. The case was even fast-tracked due to the quantity involved.

Now suddenly, all charges have been withdrawn for “medical reasons.”

What exactly were these medical reasons? Was there any documentation presented to the court? Did the accused possess any official declaration papers, prescriptions, or legal authorization supporting the claim that such a massive quantity of cannabis was intended for medicinal purposes? Because if legitimate medical documentation existed from the beginning, one would assume she would never have been arrested and charged with trafficking in the first place.

Two suitcases packed with 67 pounds of cannabis for “medical reasons” sounds difficult for the average citizen to understand.

Many Antiguans know people who have faced harsh penalties, criminal records, remand time, and years of court appearances over amounts nowhere near this size. Some young men in this country have had their lives permanently affected over a few ounces or far less. Others continue to sit before the courts fighting cases involving much smaller quantities with no special consideration, no fast withdrawal, and certainly no mysterious medical explanation appearing at the eleventh hour.

So the question becomes: what makes this case different?

The Director of Public Prosecutions owes the public a proper explanation. The office of the DPP carries enormous responsibility and power, and decisions of this magnitude cannot appear selective or inconsistent. The public must be assured that justice is being applied equally and not depending on nationality, influence, status, or connections.

What message does this send to people currently before the courts for smaller cannabis-related offences? What does it say to families whose loved ones are serving prison sentences or carrying criminal convictions for much less? Are they now to believe there are two systems of justice, one for ordinary people and another for others?

Justice must not only be done; it must be seen to be done.

Right now, many citizens are not seeing justice. They are seeing confusion, contradiction, and what appears to be unequal treatment under the law.

The people deserve transparency. They deserve consistency. And above all, they deserve confidence that the justice system treats everyone fairly, regardless of where they come from.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Citizen