Saint Lucia Ordered to Pay Millions After Two Men Spent Decades Unlawfully Detained
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has awarded millions of dollars in damages to two men who were unlawfully detained for decades, in a landmark constitutional ruling that condemned what the court described as a “prolonged and systemic failure” by the State of Saint Lucia. In a judgment delivered on April 28, 2026, Justice Alvin Pariagsingh […] The post Saint Lucia Ordered to Pay Millions After Two Men Spent Decades Unlawfully Detained appeared first on Saint Lucia Daily Post.
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The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has awarded millions of dollars in damages to two men who were unlawfully detained for decades, in a landmark constitutional ruling that condemned what the court described as a “prolonged and systemic failure” by the State of Saint Lucia.
In a judgment delivered on April 28, 2026, Justice Alvin Pariagsingh ruled that the State breached the constitutional right to personal liberty of Anthony Henry and Francis Noel after both men were detained for years without the lawful safeguards, reviews, and psychiatric care required under the law.
Henry, who was detained for approximately 24 years, was awarded EC$1.25 million in compensatory damages and EC$100,000 in vindicatory damages. Noel, who spent more than 32 years in detention, was awarded EC$1.5 million in compensatory damages and EC$120,000 in vindicatory damages.
The ruling follows earlier findings by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which had already determined that the men’s detention was unconstitutional and sent the matter back to the High Court for the assessment of damages.
Justice Pariagsingh said the case reflected far more than a procedural mistake, describing it instead as a deep institutional breakdown in which the men were effectively “forgotten within the criminal justice system for decades.”
According to evidence presented before the court, both claimants were detained after being deemed unfit to plead. However, the State failed to establish the legal and medical systems necessary to lawfully manage their detention and treatment.
The court found that the men were held in prison-like conditions without proper therapeutic programmes, meaningful review mechanisms, or adequate psychiatric care consistent with the legal framework governing individuals found unfit to stand trial.
While the judgment acknowledged that some medical attention was eventually provided particularly after 2003 , the court ruled that it still fell “materially short” of a lawful system of treatment, rehabilitation, and oversight.
Justice Pariagsingh further noted that, given the severity of their mental illnesses, both men would likely have remained in secure psychiatric detention even under a lawful system. However, the court stressed that the constitutional harm lay in the stark difference between lawful therapeutic detention and the harsh prison conditions they actually endured for decades.
In assessing damages, the judge rejected both the claimants’ multi-million-dollar calculations based on daily detention rates and the State’s significantly lower proposed figures, finding that neither adequately captured the gravity of the violations.
Instead, the court assessed damages “in the round,” taking into account the extraordinary duration of the detention, the systemic nature of the failures, and the uncertainty surrounding what could have occurred had the State acted lawfully.
The court also awarded additional vindicatory damages, ruling that they were necessary to reflect the constitutional significance of the breaches and to publicly denounce what Justice Pariagsingh described as sustained institutional failures by the State.
The State was further ordered to pay interest on the awards at a statutory rate of six percent per annum from the date of judgment until payment, in addition to covering the claimants’ legal costs.
The judgment is expected to stand as one of the most significant constitutional rulings in Saint Lucia’s legal history, given both the unprecedented length of detention and the severe systemic failures identified by the court.
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