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Thursday, September 17, 2009
The lead investigator into the murder of Grenada's Prime Minister Maurice Bishop has described Bernard Coard as a cold-blooded killer who wanted power at any costs.
Jasper Watson was referring to those convicted for the October 19, 1983 killings, the last batch of whom were released from prison two weeks ago. The retired police superintendent said they should have been hanged.
In an interview conducted with the Trinidad Express and released yesterday, Coard claimed he along with his wife, Phyllis, then army boss Hudson Austin and others was "sporadically beaten to force us to sign certain statements" referring to the several confessions produced by police officers during the murder trial.
Watson however has refuted the allegations and said that Coard even made death threats to him during the murder investigations.
"I personally interviewed Coard. One day he said to me that if it took him 50 years or 100 years, he would ensure that he got after me because he wanted me killed.
Watson said he took the responsibility of interviewing all the senior members of the Central Committee who gave the execution orders, including Coard and Austin.
Watson, who retired from the force in 1995 at the rank of superintendent, said he was disappointed that Coard and others convicted to hang for the killings were allowed to re-enter society.
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