house arrest on 19 October 1983 and took control of the government. As word of Bishop's arrest spread, large demonstrations broke out in many places. A demonstration in the capital led to Bishop being freed from house arrest by the demonstrators, making their way to the army headquarters at Fort Rupert (known today as Fort George). However, Bishop and seven others, including cabinet ministers of the government, were killed shortly after under unresolved circumstances. Coard was in turn ousted by General Hudson Austin, who nominally ruled the country for six days. Just after Marines landed in Grenada, Coard, along with his wife Phyllis, Selwyn Strachan, John Ventour, Liam James and Keith Roberts, were arrested. Trial and prison They were tried in August 1986 on charges of ordering the murder of Maurice Bishop and seven others. Coard was sentenced to death, but this was commuted to life imprisonment in 1991. He served his sentence in Richmond Hill Prison, where he was engaged in teaching and instructing fellow inmates in many subjects, including economics and sociology. In September 2004, the prison in which he was held was damaged by Hurricane Ivan and many inmates took the opportunity to flee, but Coard said he chose not to escape, saying he would not leave until his name was cleared. Release On 7 February 2007, the London-based Privy Council ordered a re-sentencing of Coard and the others convicted for the 1983 killing of Bishop and some of his cabinet colleagues. The re-sentencing hearing began on 18 June 2007. On 27 June, the judge gave Coard and his fellow defendants a 30-year sentence, which included the time already spent in prison. On 5 September 2009, Coard was released from prison. Upon release he said he did not want to be involved in politics again. Bernard Coard has three children. See also Invasion of Grenada Reagan Doctrine Grenada 17 Franklyn Harvey Education (film), a dramatization of the events surrounding Coard's critique of the British school system References External links The Grenada Revolution Online The Lost Bishop Photos Interview with Bernard Coard 2005 1944 births Living people Alumni of the University of Sussex Communist Party of Great Britain members Finance ministers of Grenada Deputy Prime Ministers of Grenada Grenadian communists Brandeis University alumni University of the West Indies academics Grenadian prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Grenada Grenadian people convicted of murder People convicted of