Coral Gardens incident

In April 2017, following a legal investigation, the government of Jamaica issued an official apology, and condemned its own actions in the incident. It also established a trust fund to aid survivors harmed in the incident.

Background

The Rastafari community in Jamaica in the late 1950s

The years prior to the Coral Gardens incident saw the building of tensions between the Rasta community and the British colonial government in Jamaica. In 1958, British police engaged in several arrests and evictions of Rastas, often bringing to bear charges for the possession of cannabis, which is used as a Rastafari religious sacrament. Several of these incidents resulted in police killings of Rastafari, and some of those arrested were reportedly never seen again. Due to alleged violence on the part of the Rastas and public discourse which emphasized "anti-social" aspects of the Rastafarian faith, public opinion in Jamaica largely sided with the police against the Rastafarians.

In 1959, a confrontation between a Rastafari security guard and a policeman at Coronation Market resulted in the police beating the security guard, which prompted a violent response from nearby shop owners. The police brought reinforcements, arresting 57 Rastafarians and brutally beating and forcibly shaving the dreadlocks off of some of them. A police car and fire truck were also set on fire during this incident. Later that year, Rastafari leader Reverend Claudius Henry was accused of plotting a revolution and communicating with Fidel Castro. In 1960, Henry's son Reynold was arrested on the grounds of plotting a revolt, and following a declaration of a state of emergency Reynold Henry and his co-conspirators were executed. Following these events, the government began to arbitrarily arrest members of the Rastafari community, under the justification that Rastafarians were involved in orchestrating a communist revolution.

In 1962, Jamaica was granted independence, but anti-Rastafarian sentiment continued to be prevalent in the government and police forces, which increasingly viewed the Rastafarians as a security threat. In police training schools, officers would often train using images of Rastafarians as target practice. This sentiment was echoed in general society as well, with Rastafarians often being beaten by civilians, forcing Rastafarians to avoid public spaces.

The Coral Gardens property and Rudolph Franklyn

Coral Gardens was part of a larger property, the Rose Hall estate (which includes the Rose Hall mansion). This property was the site of both small-scale farming by Rastafarians, as well as the ambitions of landlords and government officials who hoped to convert the area into a tourist destination. The government and landlords saw the Rastafarians as an obstacle to their goal of re-purposing the property for tourism, and frequently sent police to evict the Rastafarians. In one such incident in 1961, police attacked Rudolph Franklyn, shooting him six times in the stomach and leaving him for dead. Franklyn received surgery in a hospital to repair his stomach, but was reportedly told by a doctor that once the plastic "rotted", his wounds would reopen and he would die. Following his surgery, Franklyn was immediately arrested on the grounds of cannabis possession and sentenced to six months in prison. After his release from prison, Franklyn reportedly swore to take revenge against the overseer who had attempted to evict him, Edward Fowler.