Former Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard has been freed, after serving nearly three decades for the slaying of Former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and other officials in a 1983 coup.
The coup that triggered a U.S invasion is still one that plays on the minds of many Grenadians at home and abroad since the bodies of Bishop and 10 men killed with him have never been found.
Bernard Coard and six other men are the last of the “Grenada 17″.
The men were found guilty in a trial in 1986 of ordering the army to execute the men and were sentenced to death; but the death sentence was repealed two years ago by the Privy Council in London.
The men were due to be released Coard and the six others being let go were due to be released by the end of this year or early 2010.
However, a panel that reviews prisoner issues, including the conduct of inmates serving lengthy sentences, recommended they be freed this month.
Those released today Saturday September 5th 2009 include: Bernard Coard Leon Cornwall Callistus Bernard, Ewart Layne, Dave Bartholomew, Liam James and Selwyn Strachan — would be released as soon as Saturday. Ten others convicted in the killings, including Coard’s wife, were previously released.
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