And Williams will have his day in court, but for those awaiting trials in Belize City's Magistrate Court, well, they'll have to wait a bit longer. That's because hurricane Lisa damaged the roof over four courtrooms, rendering them completely unusable, especially on a rainy day like today. Due to the collapsed ceiling, water poured into the building, and even lighting fixtures were left hanging after the hurricane.
Chief Magistrate, Sharon Frazer, is hoping the problem will be fixed soon, and while it is frustrating, she understands that there are plenty of others out there who need assistance just as urgently with their own roofs.
She spoke to us today.
Sharon Frazer, Chief Magistrate
"You all are aware the roof went off and of course we sit below the section of the court that the roof went off so all that water that is pouring, it's pouring down, and it's coming down to us, particularly on the section that houses court 3, 4, 5, 6, particularly court 4, the ceiling has now caved in, it's really not safe to have persons, whether the magistrates, the staff, or even the users of the court, or the prisoners, the place is full with water at this point, I'm hoping and we've been told at least they'll try to cover up the roof but even then water is still in there so we're dealing with mold issues now at this point. I had just invested some money in trying to de-mold the place and now hurricane Lisa, we couldn't have predicted hurricane Lisa, but it's impossible to hold any sittings on that side of the court at this point."
Courtney Menzies:
"Do you feel like the process to get the roof fixed has been very slow or delayed?"
Sharon Frazer, Chief Magistrate
"Well, I know that they're trying to help a lot of people, a lot of people the hurricane has affected, there is no way that any speed could have had particularly this building which is a historical building so there needs to be some planning as it relates to it. But I do feel that at least some effort, but I'm aware that we're supposed to be getting some assistance today to get some tarp on the top of the building to at least prevent some of the water that is coming down to us."
Courtney Menzies:
"But it must be frustrating too not being able to carry out your job because of being afraid of getting wet."
Sharon Frazer, Chief Magistrate
"Well, it's a little frustrating, yes because as we speak I have to be accommodating the magistrates from that side to use my courtroom so we're basically sharing courtroom, they do their matters, then I go in and do my matters, so that is where the frustration is. We have a number of matters that are actually set for trial, we're not able to address those because of the fact that we're sharing space at this time. I'm hoping that soon, very soon, in finding somewhere to relocate, we could at least continue serving the public in the attainment of justice."
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