Murder convictions safe
(CNS): The Court of Appeal has rejected the appeals of Larry Ricketts and Kirkland Henry on their conviction for the murder of Estella Scott-Roberts. On behalf of the three appeal court judges, the president, Sir John Chadwick, briefly revealed the decision this morning but said a written ruling would be handed down later. "By any standards this was an horrendous crime," the president told the court. He said that the appellants’ lead counsel had advanced every point that could properly have been done on their clients behalf. However, the president told the court, "We are satsified there are no grounds for allowing these appeals. Accordingly they are both dismissed." (Photo courtesy Cayman27)
Ricketts and Henry were both sentenced to life in prison by the chief justice in February this year for the October 2008 murder. (Photo courtesy Cayman27)
Henry has already pleaded guilty to rape, abduction and robbery and was given 20 years for those crimes in the wake of the murder trial. Ricketts who has pleaded not guilty to robbery, rape and abduction is listed to face another trial for those offences. However, the crown may decide that with a safe murder conviction it is not in the public interest to continue with a second trial relating to the offence.
There has been no indication so far from either of the attorneys representing Ricketts or Henry if they intend to take the appeals to the UK’s Privy Council.
Full story on CNS later today.
Category: Headline News
Others have been serving time in Northward for murder for well over 25 years and are stillthere with no indication of release so maybe, just maybe, these two will be put in a confined areas and kept there for a mighty looooog time!
Erm……….ok, silencekills. I’m not the poster you responded to but I am interested in having YOUR definition of the political state of Zimbabwe under Mr Mugabe……..just to help us "twits" along. Two party democracy perhaps? Being a twit I haven’t googled it as I would rather hear what you have to say.
Morgan Chungerai (but not spelled like that).
Apparently you were unable to get the gist of the post – put in place a proper review process for legal aid appeals and the appeals with merit go ahead and the ones with hundreds of pages of drivel don’t. Simple enough?
We need to change our laws.
Keeping murders behind bars to influence and corrupt other is not doing us any justice.
Its unfortunate our laws do not accommodate the electric chair or lethal injection!!
I wholeheartedly agree that it is a pity that we do not have capital punishment here to deal with those two degenerate animals who committed that crime.
They are lower than any member of the animal kingdom and capital punishment would have been the only just punishment for such degenerate scum bags.
Let us hope and pray that the UK may one day re-institute capital punishment which will pave the way for us to do the same in order to rid society of such scum.
Does any one know the amount of funds that have been spent on the murder trials, by Government, for these scum as well as how much it costs per month to house and feed them?
Sorry but the constitution your guys just passed in Cayman prohibits capital punishment oh yes along with the extension to the Cayman Islands by the UK Government of the European Convention on Human Rights under the Treaty of Rome. Sorry but there are some really ignorant people out there. Capital punishment is the sign of an uncivilised country. Just look at our nearest neighbour if you need any confirmation of that. They murder people on death row regularly and look what effect it has on violent crime – absolutely none.
It costs far more to execute a criminal than it does to jail them for life, usually by an order of 10 or 20 times the costs.
Saying that, anyone who tries to argue in favour of capital punishment as a cost-saving exercise is probably too barbaric to debate with anyway.
Breach of Article 3 for detainement of natural life it constitute a cruel and inhumane punishment and will be based on the tariff of the UK (20-25 years) Don’t get me wrong I am very happy they they will spend at least that but even the Judge has said it was a horrendous crime.Too bad they have to spend it at Hotel Northward at our expenses(make them work maybe, without pay of course) That’s problably another Human Rights violation.I know that I can count on many of our Caymanian friends(who always get the news before the public) that at each of Estalla’s causes: would be birthdays,anniversaries and any occasion to Honor Estella not to arm them physically but on that day make it of a none acknowledgement of their existance day by all inmates and maybe a bread and water day. And while many of us will no longer be of this world when they are released, I hope they will be on a small islands crushing rocks with the likes of themselves or worst if there is such a thing . R.I.P. Estalla we shall never forget thee. Their last trial with God will serve all concerned Justice however.
has to be the most dreadful thing that has happen in Cayman
Particular cases such as this is where capital punishment is missed. Good job keeping them behind bars and as mentioned below, not wasting anymore money on these a******s!
Now that the appeals process is behind them these 2 young convicted killers have the rest of their lives to contemplate the consequences of their horrendous actions.
Every birthday, every holiday as well as the birth and death of all family members all will be spend behind the walls of Northward and in my opinion they received a lenient sentence given their crime.
Actually it is unlikely they will remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives. In order to comply with the bill of rights the government will in due course be required to pass legislation whereby tariffs are set for the release of life term prisoners. It is a breach of article 3 to detainfor natural life (it constitutes a cruel and inhumane punishment). Since no tariff sentences have ever been passed here in all liklihood they will look to the UK for guideline tariffs. The tariff for an offence of this nature in the UK is 20 to 25 years. I await my many thumbs downs.
That is one of the best arguments for consecutive sentences for this type of horrendous crime – a life sentence for murder, followed by a life sentence for rape, followed by a life sentence for kidnapping, followed by a life sentence for robbery. There is nothing in the EHRC prohibiting consecutive sentences.
followed by one for arson for burning up Estella’s car
In fact lifers in Uk frequently only serve HALF the sentence – under Uk laws, with good behaviour in Northward, they would be out in 12 years 6 months. Only the Home Secretary can overrule and insist life means life – they do it very rarely – they did it with Myra Hindley
Time to close the Book and stop wasting money on these vicious criminals.
Justice has prevailed! Rest well my precious Estella. I will love you forever & miss you always.
How anyone could click the "thumbs down" on this comment is beyond me. They are, without a doubt, a heartless and evil scum bag. But, as we have seen through this case, those types of people always get what they deserve. Estelle was a great woman who did more than she ever had to do for the people on this island and that is way more than could be said for the low-life that would dear to disliked one of her loved one’s comments.
At the Northward Hotel the "guests" are able to use the internet while watching TV in their air conditioned facilities all the while enjoying their favorite and quicly delivered pizza. That is where the thumbs down come from no doubt.
I don’t really see how Northward Hotel relates to a loved one’s message to RIP. But, I do believe that justice has prevailed. Yes, these men will be going to the a prison that treats its prisoners like royalty but with all the work that Estelle did with the prisoners, I doubt it will be a comfortable stay. She was very well liked by many prisons, some serving life sentences. Let’s just hope that they get what they truly deserve once on the inside. I know "an eye for an eye" isn’t a very Christian way to look at life but it’s very difficult to think like a Christian when all you really want is for the men who committed this crime to suffer 10 fold what Estelle and her family/friends have suffered through. All I have left to say is, what goes around comes around and these men will get what they truly deserve, if not in this life then on their day of judgement.
Good.
The family now faces another trial?? for what – Ricketts has been convicted as an accessory so does he really need to be tried against on his own?
How much more do these evil bastards believe Estella and her family must be put through?
ENOUGH!
These "evil bastards" are entitled to due process. Convicted or not they are still entitled to due process – that is what seperates a country which is a true democracy abiding by the rule of law from the dictatorships like say Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is not a dictatorship. Do a quick google search before you sound like a twit
just because it may not be a dictatorship in name, doesn’t mean that it’s not a dictatorship. if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, it’s a duck you twit. google that!
Hi it’s "twit" here – why don;’t you tell all the people murdered and abducted under the current Zimbabwean regime that they should google the fact they do not live in a dictatorship. Oh yes along with the political opposition who are regularly saying that they are in fear of their lives if they challenge the results. If that makes me a twit then I wear my badge with pride.
GREAT JOB!!!!
Rest in peace Estella and watch over us.
Congratulations to the Police, Mr. Kennett in particular and to the Chief Justice!
The crimes committed in this case were horrific but I doubt that family members really want to live through another trial and do we as a society really want to spend the money at this time trying Ricketts for these other offences when he is already going to serve a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole. Not only that but if he is tried and convicted on these other counts, all the court is likely to do is impose a "concurrent" sentence to run while the current life sentence is in effect.
Our courts unfortunately do not hand out seem inclined to hand out consecutive sentences even for unspeakable violent crimes. If the courts were required to impose consecutive sentences in violent crimes then trying him on these other charges might have some value as "insurance" in case some later human rights appeal might shorten his "life sentence". Personally I think the law needs to be changed to make consecutive sentences mandatory in violent crimes. Until that happens criminals will continue to do violence as long as the sentence for one crime is the same as 20.
Is it not time that a proper panel of senior (retired) lawyers was set up to determine which legal aid cases have actual merit and therefore should go to appeal. If this is not done we seem doomed to spend hundreds of thousands that we cannot afford simply because those convicted in our courts and the legal aid lawyers that represent them have nothing better to do than file appeals.
Yeah yeah its all those greedy lawyers fault. Do any of you commenting even know what the several hundreds of pages of documents in the court of appeal and trial documents even said? How do you know the appeal was unmeritorious – just because it did not win – that does not mean it was without merit – hey but lets not let the facts get in the way of a good blood lusting rant!
"just because it did not win – that does not mean it was without merit".
That is precisely what it means.
THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!