Inniss considers book about jail experience as he fights conviction

By Jenique Belgrave

Barbadians could soon get an in-depth look at former minister Donville Inniss’ life behind bars in the United States.

As he continues the fight to have his money laundering conspiracy conviction overturned, he disclosed to Barbados TODAY that during his two-year stint in federal prison, he started penning a record of his experience that could be published later this year.

“The thing about being imprisoned is that you have time. It is a very boring experience, but I opted to get pen and paper and go on the computer and do a lot of writing and I have documented a lot of the experience. 

“So, perhaps in the next few months I may publish a book on the experience, but it will not be designed in a way of seeking sympathies or apologies but more or less to say this has been my experience, this is how I handled things and where I saw things wrong in the system – not necessarily specifics of the case – and here are lessons to be learnt and hopefully something that people may enjoy reading,” he said in an interview over the weekend.

In a case brought by the US Justice Department in 2020, Inniss was convicted of participating in a scheme to launder $36 000 in bribes received from executives of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited to help that company secure two government contracts.

Maintaining his innocence, the 57-year-old former St James South MP said he was working to have his sentence vacated.

“I felt that my legal team could have done a better job. I felt that I should never have been indicted, convicted and incarcerated. I feel very strongly about that. Nobody offered me a bribe to influence any decision,” he insisted. 

“And while people say, ‘Oh, you have paid your price and just move on’, there are some things you can’t leave behind. And, therefore, I’ve asked the Second Circuit in the federal system in New York to revisit my issue.”

It is against this background that Inniss filed a 2255 Motion to Vacate in February, based on “ineffective counsel”.

“I have another couple of months to prepare my brief for that, which I’m working on,” he said.

Noting that he is representing himself in the matter, the former businessman explained that if successful, the court will either vacate his sentence or, in “a worst-case scenario”, order a new trial. (JB)