For the past 10 years now, Ernest Billary has been on remand at the Belize Central Prison after he was charged with arson, for allegedly burning his sister’s house down.
Back in January of 2008, Dawn Billary lost $77,000 worth of property in the fire which destroyed her home on Hibiscus Lane, in the St. Martin De Porres area. That fire almost claimed the lives of Dawn Billary’s 2 younger children, who were a 4-months-old and a 6-year-old at the time. Fortunately, they were saved by their eldest brother, who was 16 years-old at the time, but for his bravery, he suffered burns to the forehead and the nose. Residents reported seeing Ernest Billary jumping the fence and running away at the time of the fire.
6 days later, Billary was charged with arson, and on September 11th, 2009, a jury declared him unfit to stand trial due to mental illness. A psychiatrist assessed him, and determined that he suffers from chronic psychotic disorder, and that he cannot assess reality adequately.
In all that time, the case has not been brought back up, and there has not been any resolution either way on his arson charge. His other sister has been, and continues to agitate for his release, and today, she came to us to complain that she has been pushed around.
Here’s what she had to say about her brother’s 10 years behind bars:
We spoke with Prison CEO Virgilio Murrillo, and he told us that he knows about Billary’s case. He said that he recently received instructions from the Supreme Court for Billary to get another psychiatric evaluation. He told us that the country only has one psychiatrist, and the last he was informed, that doctor, who is a Nicaraguan, may be on vacation right now. He said that they will carry out the evaluation as soon as the doctor is available.
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