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Cayman government ‘astounded’ by blacklisting
(CNS Business): The minister for financial services has said the decision by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to place the Cayman Islands on its high risk countries list, as reported by CNS Business on Thursday, defies logic. Astounded by the decision, Wayne Panton told CNS Business Thursday that government had already written to the FCA about the listing requesting a review and removal, but following the body’s refusal he was considering a judicial review. While Panton listed the reasons why Cayman should not be included, given the FCA’s published criteria, the financial watchdog said there was still a money laundering risk in the Cayman framework. Read more on CNS Business
Jeffers guilty of third killing
(CNS): A jury of 11 women and one man agreed unanimously that Raziel Omar Jeffers (31) was guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of Marcos Duran in March 2010 but not guilty of the more serious charge of murder. However, Jeffers will now return to jail while he awaits sentence as he is already serving two life sentences for the murder of Marcus Ebanks in 2009 and Damion Ming in 2010. Jeffers had little reaction to the verdict which was made by the jury in about three hours. The crown's case was that he had masterminded a plan to rob Duran as he was on his rounds selling illegal numbers and that he had armed the assailants with lethal barrelled weapons.
In February 2012, in a judge-alone trial Justice Charles Quin found Jeffers guilty of the murder of Marcus Ebanks in July 2009. He was also convicted of trying to kill four other young men, including Adryan Powell, who was paralyzed as a result of the multiple gunshots he received on the evening of the shooting. Jeffers was one of two gunmen who had opened fire on a group of young men as they sat in a West Bay yard in July 2009.
In April 2014 a jury found Jeffers guilty of the murder of Damion Ming. As he handed down a second life sentence, the judge told Jeffers he believed he was a cruel, calculating cold blooded killer.
All three cases depended heavily on the evidence of the crown's key witness, Meagan Martinez, Jeffers' former girlfriend and the mother of his young son, who said her lover had confessed his crimes to her.
New face joins appeal court for summer session
(CNS): Following the retirement of Sir Anthony Campbell from the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, there is a new face on the bench for this summer session of the local high court. Sir George Newman was sworn in on Monday, 11 August, by the governor as the appeal court got underway. Officials said he brings a wide range of experience as an advocate and as a judge. As an advocate, he was involved in constitutional lawcases in the Privy Council, dealing with challenges under the constitution against the governments of various Commonwealth jurisdictions. First appointed to the bench in 1995, as a High Court Judge in England & Wales, he has dealt with a wide variety of work involving serious crime.
On his first visit ever to visit to Cayman, this week he said: “I feel very happy that I am able to be here because I see it as part of a continuous passage of being involved in the rule of law in the Commonwealth and, in particular, the Caribbean.”
Welcoming Sir George, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie said it was a great pleasure. “The wealth of experience that he brings from around the Commonwealth, both as a leading advocate and judge, will certainly help to maintain the high reputation of our Court of Appeal. I hope that he and Lady Hilary will enjoy their times spent in Cayman."
With human rights cases now emerging in the Cayman Islands, court officials said Sir George’s extensive role as an advocate arguing such constitutional cases is of particular significance. His expertise in resolving legal matters in the constitutional and political arenas was recognized when after an attempted coup in Trinidad, he acted and advised in court proceedings in the aftermath of the violence there.
As well as his work as a judge the new member of the appeal court brings experience as the UK’s Surveillance Commissioner at the Home Office where he is responsible for judicial scrutiny of law enforcement operations involving serious crime such as terrorism. The aim of these enquiries is to ensure that law enforcement procedures are not disproportionately or unnecessarily intrusive of individual privacy and human rights.
Sir George also has commercial law experience after working on the banking dispute when US President Jimmy Carter, froze Iranian banks in London, and in the International “Tin Council” litigation. He has acted in arbitrations as counsel for various foreign governments, such as the State of Qatar, in a Gulf oil dispute, and an arbitration concerning the security of Qatar’s border technology, and for the People’s Republic of China in a commercial arbitration in Stockholm. He has also acted as an arbitrator in London, Singapore and Stockholm in commercial disputes involving both foreign states and commercial entities.
Chamber wants to partner with government
(CNS Business): The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce wants the same thing that the government does, according to its president, Johann Moxam, who says that there seems to be some reluctance on the part of the government, including the National Workforce Development Agency, “to really sit down at the table and have a candid and comprehensive discussion on the way forward”. Watch video on CNS Business
Domestic assault victim air-lifted to Miami
(CNS): The 53-year-old woman who was brutally attacked with a machete in a domestic assault Tuesday has been airlifted to Miami for vital medical treatment. Police have said that she sustained serious injuries but remains in a critical but stable condition. The 42-year-old man who was arrested shortly after the incident is also in hospital with self-inflicted wounds. An RCIPS spokesperson said that he is in stable condition and remains in police custody while the investigation continues. The incident took place in Bodden Town at around 6:30pm on Tuesday 12 August.
Further updates will be made available, police said.
Third arrest for Brac booze burglary
(CNS): Police said this morning that a 21-year-old man was arrested today on suspicion of burglary/handling stolen goods in connection with a break-in at the Coral Isle Bar on Cayman Brac on 29 July. Two 17-year-old boys, Geoff Ryan Scott and Torry Javier Powery, were charged with stealing 19 bottles of alcohol and possession of ganja and appeared for the fist time in court last week. Police arrested the youngsters after one bottle of the stolen loot was discovered at Scott's house, where both boys were staying, and others were then found hidden on property nearby.
Scott was bailed on a tag but with no one to sign surety for him, Powery was remanded in custody until the teenagers' next court appearance on 14 August.
Police said today's arrest followed extensive investigations by the Cayman Brac officers.
Chief Inspector Owens said, “The further positive actions in this matter would not have Ben possible without the information supplied by the community, which reiterates what I have said previously and shows the community that any assistance will be treated with utmost confidentiality."
Jury told ignore other trial
(CNS): Chief Justice Anthony Smellie told the jury for the trial of Raziel Jeffers, who is accused of murder, that the fact that Jordan Manderson, who is named on the indictment, has stood trial and been acquitted of the shooting death of numbers man Marcos Duran and that others who have been named in this trial as accomplices have not been prosecuted does not prevent them from deciding the truth of the indictment, which states that Jeffers, together with Jordan Manderson, murdered Duran on 11 March 2010. In his summation, the chief justice told the one man and 11 women on the jury panel that they are responsible to judge the facts before them in this case and that what had been decided in another trial is irrelevant.
In his direction to the jury, Chief Justice Smellie told them that in order to find the defendant guilty of murder they must first be sure that there was a plan to rob the victim, that the defendant was involved in that plan with others and accept that he was the mastermind. They must be sure, the chief justice said, that in the carrying out of that plan, murder was committed, and also, given the nature of the crime, that the murder was a probably consequence, which means that a reasonable person could have foreseen what would happen, even if it was not the defendant’s intent.
Although Jeffers is on trial for murder, the crown is not suggesting that he actually pulled the trigger that killed Duran during a bungled robbery attempt or even that he was present, but has made the case that Jeffers masterminded the crime and armed the assailants, and is therefore guilty of murder. The victim was killed outside 28 Maliwinas Way, West Bay, as he went on his rounds to sell illegal numbers and to collect money.
The CJ told them that if they were sure that the defendant was involved in the planning and use of firearms but are not satisfied that it was murder, they can find him guilty of manslaughter. He asked them to consider whether the defendant was party to an unlawful and dangerous act that resulted in the death of Duran and if so they can convict him of the lesser offence.
The jury was also reminded that Jordan Manderson had repeatedly said that Andy Barnes, a member of a rival gang and his sworn enemy, was the one who had shot him. The chief justice asked them to consider whether Manderson had concocted or distorted the truth. He noted that Manderson, known as “Pinga”, had initially lied about where he had been shot but his blood had been found at the scene. He asked the panel to think about why he was at Maliwinas Way at that critical time.
Regarding Jeffers’ former girlfriend, Meagan Martinez, whom he described as a “pivotal witness”, the CJ asked them to consider how she could have known that Manderson was shot in Maliwinas Way. He noted that Brian O’Neill, QC, acting for Jeffers, had suggested that she had fabricated the whole thing “for some reason known only to her”, and pointed out that the defence’s depiction of her as “a woman of fury” had not been put to her when she was in the witness box so she could respond to it.
Rita Martinez had given evidence in court that Jeffers was not at her apartment that night, as her niece Meagan has described in her testimony. But the jury had heard that she had given several statement to the police and in one of those she had said that he was. If this undermined her credibility then they could reject her evidence but they could not simply substitute that statement for the evidence before them, the chief justice explained.
The jury was asked what proper conclusion they could draw from the fact that Jeffers did not give any evidence in his own defence. O’Neill had suggested that they should not believe Meagan Martinez’ account and should reject her evidence, but the CJ said the jury may ask why the defendant did not go into the witness box to give his own explanation. He said that they had been told that Jeffers was visiting a friend that night in the area, but they had not been presented with any evidence to support this.
However, the chief justice told them that they can only draw a negative inference from the fact that he did not give evidence in his own trial if the prosecution’s case was strong enough that he needed to answer it and also if the only possible reason for him not answering is that he is guilty. They may not find him guilty mainly or only because he did not give evidence.
Trial hangs on witness
(CNS): Raziel Jeffers, who is on trial for murder in the shooting death of numbers man Marcos Duran, offered no evidence in his defence and did not take the stand. In the closing arguments Tuesday, Director of Prosecutions Cheryll Richards, QC, asked the jury whether they found the crown's key witness, Meagan Martinez,to be truthful. "Do you believe her?" she asked, which is the crux of the trial. Richard said she was a troubled teenager who was now facing her past. Jeffers' defence said she was dishonest, a liar and an unreliable witness.
Jeffers is accused of masterminding the robbery of Duran and arming his Birch Tree Hill gang 'soldiers' for the hold-up on Maliwinas Way in West Bay in March 2010. The crown contends that because of the nature of the crime and the use of lethal barrelled weapons, the death of the numbers man was a probable consequence and he is guilty of murder but the jury can also consider the alternative sentence of manslaughter. The prosecution's case depends heavily on Martinez' testimony.
Richards said the jury could have no doubts that this was a young lady who had "walked on the wrong side of the tracks" but asked, "Is she still there or has she turned her life around?"
The DPP pointed out to the 11 women and one man on the jury that there was supportive evidence for her narrative, which she says was told to her by the defendant while they were in a relationship. This ncluded cell site and phone evidence that Martinez could have had no influence over and could not have known, forensic evidence which places Jordan Manderson at the scene, and the witness statements of her cousin, who had driven her to collect Jeffers after the incident.
Richards said she had been the perfect confidant for Jeffers, who did not think that she would ever had had the courage to come forward. In fact, Martinez had said that he had threatened her that she was a party to the offence. She had been honest and forthright about her past and "had made no attempt to conceal who she is or who she was", the DPP said.
The defence pointed out that Manderson had been tried and acquitted of the murder, and that none off the other young men alleged to be involved had ever been tried in the matter.
Painting Martinez as a manipulative liar, Brian O'Neill, QC, said that even if her account was true and the jury believed that she was faithfully recounting what the defendant had said to her, they could still not find him guilty of murder.
He pointed out that the plan was to frighten the numbers man, not to hurt him; that there was no evidence that the plan was to use a real and loaded weapon; that there was no evidence that Jeffers knew there was a second gun; and that the source of the .22 caliber gun involved had not been proven.
O'Neill also noted that no one had said that masks were worn at Jeffers' suggestion, or that he had supplied the masks. Critically, he was not present at the time of the murder and had not even known what had happened until the next day. On Martinez evidence he had been agitated and regretful, saying "the poor numbers man" had been killed.
The defence counsel maintained that the death of Duran was not a "probable consequence" of the robbery, noting that many robberies take place without ending in the death of someone. He said the plan had been to frighten him, and the fact that one of those recruited to carry out the robbery would bring a loaded weapon and use it was "outside anyone's contemplation".
If the jury found that Jeffers was culpable in the killing, he submitted that they should find him guilty of manslaughter and not the more serious crime of murder. However, he again suggested that the evidence of. Martinez had been discredited and that the defendant was guilty of neither charge.
School entry screening for new students
(CNS): The Public Health Department is reminding parents that all students entering government or private schools for thefirst time are required to have health screenings before the new school year begins in September. Health screenings continue to take place at the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC) campus, from now until 20 August, and at the Cayman Islands Hospital from 21 – 29 August 2014. Completed forms from private physicians should be submitted to the Public Health Department, Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm. School entry screening will commence in Cayman Brac on 15 August 2014. Parents/Guardians will be contacted by the Public Health Department to arrange appointments.
For further information call: 326-4890, 326-3882, 925-5401.
Red Cross awarded grant for ‘Girls Will’ conference
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Red Cross (CIRC) is the first recipient of a new grant programme, launched by the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation (ESRF), to provide funding to organisations for proposals that would contribute to the Foundation’s objectives and achieving its vision of gender equality and a life free of violence for all. A grant of CI$7,500 will go towards hosting a girls’ empowerment conference called ‘Girls Will’ in September 2014. The conference will provide a space for girls, young women and parents to better understand and process information on subjects such as the impact of gender, gender norms and discrimination; child sexual abuse; healthy sexuality; and violence against girls and women.
It will also provide participants with an opportunity to engage in exercises focusing on healthy self-esteem and self-expression. There will also be co-current sessions run for parents, in an effort to help spark and enhance dialogue between parents and their children.
Deputy Director of the CIRC, Carolina Ferreira stated, "The CIRC has been working with youth for over 12 years, and it has become increasingly clear that our efforts need to be multi-faceted and multi-organisational to be effective.” While child sexual abuse affects both boys and girls, there are a variety of factors that make girls and young women more vulnerable to different types of violence and abuse not only in childhood but throughout their lives.
Ferreira believes that the girls’ empowerment conference is one small step to highlight these vulnerabilities and begin to reduce them. She further elaborated, “Empowerment isn't what happens the day of the conference, but what the participants do with the information and tools after they leave. We have to start somewhere, and we are very excited that the conference is a first step and that we have the financial support of the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation in this endeavor."
“The Foundation is excited to provide the main financial sponsorship for the Girls Will Conference because this event is so closely aligned with our objectives of empowering and educating young people and adults on important issues such as gender equality and living a life free from violence,” said Rayle Roberts, ESRF Chair.
The Girls Will Conference is reflective of a collaborative effort with other community organisations such as the Family Resource Centre, Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, Health Services Authority, Ministry of Education, Employment, and Gender Affairs, Employee Assistance Programme, Business and Professional Women’s Club, Ben Hud's Wisdom Campaign, and the Cayman Story Company also being involved.
The ESRF encourages charitable, community, and other non-profit organisations in the Cayman Islands to submit an application for the 2015 grant cycle by 31 December 2014.
Grant funding of up to CI$10,000 is available for projects or programmes that are consistent with the objectives of the ESRF. More information on the grant programme and the grant application form are available at www.esrfoundation.org.ky.