14 in Grenada Convicted of Murdering Prime Minister

A jury today convicted 14 people of murdering Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, whose assassination during a military coup prompted the U.S. invasion of this Caribbean island in 1983.

Three other defendants were found guilty of manslaughter, and one was acquitted. Murder is punishable by death by hanging.

The 18 defendants were accused of murdering Bishop, three Cabinet members and seven other people in an Oct. 19, 1983 coup.

Six days later, 6,000 U.S. Marines and paratroops landed on Grenada. The Reagan Administration said the invasion was to restore order, to protect Americans--including several hundred medical students--and to prevent the further buildup of Cuban military advisers and weapons on the island.

The United States, already alarmed by Bishop’s Marxist leanings and warm ties with Cuba and the Soviet Union, sent in the Marines and paratroopers in part to halt any further leftward shift under the military government that replaced Bishop.

Among those convicted were former Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, the alleged mastermind of the coup; Coard’s wife, Phyllis, and Gen. Hudson Austin, who conducted the coup and directed the defense against the U.S. invasion.

The jury of seven men and five women deliberated about three hours before delivering 198 verdicts, or one for each of 11 charges of murder against each of the 18 defendants.

The defendants were taken to lunch before the verdict was read and were brought back into the crowded courtroom in handcuffs. As a precaution before the verdict was announced, police from four neighboring Leeward Islands nations came to Grenada on Wednesday. Top government officials from the island of St. Lucia said Grenada requested the help.

The defendants dismissed their attorneys during the trial and represented themselves.