Headline News

Miller: Drug law not working

Cayman News | 30/08/2010 | 38 Comments

(CNS): The represented for North Side, Ezzard Miller, has said that Cayman’s drug problem is not being helped by interdiction. The country needs to focus on reducing demand amongst the youngest kids, instead of spending so much on law enforcement as it wasn’t working, the MLA said last week. He said that the country had to focus on preventing today’s primary school children getting involved in drugs by spending money on them and ensuring that they have a better chance than the generations that came before them. Miller said it was almost impossible to turn older kids away from using or selling drugs once they became used to earning the kind of money the drub business generated.

Speaking at the police community meeting in North Side, on Thursday evening, Miller, the independent representative for the district, said that in 1989 as the minister responsible for health he came up with Cayman’s first National Drug Policy but it has since been dropped. Miller pointed out that enforcement has failed and that there are more drugs available today despite law enforcement efforts than ever before.

“Interdiction is not working,” he said, adding that this was illustrated by the amount of money spent by the United States which had done nothing to solve the problem. “Cocaine and marijuana is more readily available and cheaper today than it was twenty-five years ago.”

He said he wanted to save the 65 or so children at the North Side primary school so they didn’t become the future users and dealers. Miller said that he had asked government for just CI$75,000 in the budget to work with the teens in the district that were vulnerable and to ensure the kids in North Side Primary who were not yet sucked in would be protected. He lamented the fact he didn’t get it and pointed out that spending that money now would save millions in future if he could save those 65 children.

Across the board enforcement efforts were failing, the MLA warned, and government had been spending millions of dollars foolishly. Hepointed out that the CAYs Foundation, which ran the government children’s homes, had terrible results and most of the young people that had been through the system were either in jail or dead. Miller said he believed this sent a clear message, “If you want to save kids don’t put them in government programmes.”

Miller spoke about the efforts in the community to take care of the teens in North Side that were at risk, including attempts to find them work or training. His district council was now utilizing the community centre more effectively and it could provide a place at evenings to run a variety of programmes that would help keep kids out of trouble, but he needed the money to do it.

He also told Baines that people in North Side wanted to work with the police as they always had done, demonstrated by the regular meetings with the RCIPS in the district, but he said they needed to see more results. North Siders were sick, he said, of seeing the same criminals arrested over and over as they were released on bail while awaiting sentencing and they would just commit the same crimes over and over.

“We have had the same people, committing the same offences for over 15 years,” Miller said. “There must be a meeting of minds at some point between government, the police and the judicial system to put a stop to this madness.”

Accused gunmen opt for jury

Cayman News | 30/08/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): The three young men accused of killing Omar Samuels (28) last year have elected to have their case tried by a jury. The trial of Patrick McField (23), Osbourne Douglas (23) and Brandon Leslie (24) opens in the Grand Court on Monday morning before Justice Charles Quin. The three men are accused of shooting Samuels on 5 July 2009 in McField Lane, George Town. Although he was shot in the leg the bullet penetrated Samuels’ femoral artery causing him to bleed to death. The murder triggered what police described as a spate of tit for tat shootings, which lasted until March of this year when Damion Ming became the most recent victim of the gang violence.

The three men accused of killing Samuels are all represented by Queen’s Counsel from the UK and local defence attorneys Nicholas Dixie, Ben Tonner and Clyde Allen. The crown’s case will be made by Cheryl Richards QC, the solicitor general, supported by crown counsel Trisha Hutchinson.

Douglas, Leslie and McField were all arrested in August and charged with the murder on 5 September, two months after the shooting, by the senior investigator, former Detective Inspector Kim Evans.

The murder was the second shooting in 2009 following the murder of Jerome Russell, who was shot at the Shir Reynolds club in George Town. No one has ever been arrested in connection with that killing.

Three days after the killing of Samuels, the third shooting of 2009 occurred when three young men were shot in Bonaventure Road in West Bay. Twenty-year-old Marcus Ebanks was killed and Adryan Powell who was fourteen at the time was critically wounded and remains in a wheel chair as a result of the gun shot wound. Ebanks’ brother Rod (18) was also shot but he recovered from his injuries. Twenty-six-year-old Raziel Omar Jeffers has since been charged with both Ebanks’ murder and the attempted murder of Powell and has been committed to the Grand Court for trial.

A few weeks after the Bonaventure shooting, on 9 September, Carlos Webster was shot in the head and killed inside the Next Level Night Club (now known as Jet) on the West Bay Road. No one has been charged with this murder and the police commissioner, David Baines has frequently berated witnesses for not coming forward as there were over 150 people in the club at the time of the shooting.

Fabian Reid was then killed in Newlands on 13 October when he and a woman were shot at in a car by masked gunmen. No one has been charged for that crime. Nor has anyone been charged for shooting Fabian Powell six times on 28 December when he was gunned down outside Wellie’s Cool spot in George Town.

Baines, who arrived on island to take up his post of commissioner weeks after the shootings began, described the gang violence as tit for tat and said it was down to disputes between two West Bay gangs and a George Town gang. The RCIPS attempted to keep the known gang members apart from each other by getting in between them with road blocks and following the known gang members around.

However, that did not prevent the murder of five-year-old Jeremiah Barnes, who was shot and killed as a gunman took aim at the family car being driven by his father Andy Barnes at a gas station in West Bay in February. Devon Anglin has since been charged with the crime and hearings in relation to that case continue on in the summary court.

A few weeks later, Marcos Mauricio Gauman Duran, an Ecuadorian national from the George Town District, was shot outside apartments in Maliwanas Way and a 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murder, there is still speculation on whether this was a gang related killing or simply a robbery gone wrong.

Alrick Peddie (25) was then shot and killed in the middle of the afternoon in West Bay on March 24. Three men were arrested and then charged with the murder but legal wrangling regarding the use of anonymous witnesses by the prosecution continue in the courts.

The latest murder that police have said they believe was gang related was the killing of Damion Ming, who was shot in his yard on 25 March in Birch Tree Hill, West Bay. Raziel Jeffers has also been charged with this murder. Ming was shot the night before hewas due to return to Northward prison, having had his appeal on a drug conviction, for which he was still on bail, overturned by the Privy Council in the UK the day before.

At the recent community meetings Baines has said that the police have managed to get the gang violence under control and noted that most of what he calls the “triggermen” are either dead or in jail.

Masked men mug woman

Cayman News | 28/08/2010 | 79 Comments

(CNS): A woman was robbed on the street this morning (Saturday) at around 6 o’clock by two armed masked men. Bodden Town detectives are appealing for witnesses to the armed robbery that took place on West Lane in the Pedro Castle area of Savannah. The men, who were armed with a handgun and a knife, approached the victim as she was leaving her place of work. They demanded her handbag, took it from her and removed an undetermined sum of money. Police said they do not know if the robbers left the scene on foot or in a vehicle. One suspect is described as 5’ 6” tall and stocky, the other about 5’ 10” and slim built. They both spoke with a Caymanian accent and were wearing dark clothes. (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)

No shots were fired and the female victim did not receive any injuries.

Anyone who was in the area at the time and might have witnessed the men leaving the scene are asked to call the Bodden Town CID at 947 2220, George Town police station at 949 4222 or Crime Stoppers at 800 TIPS (8477)

Chuckie’s exit no surprise

Cayman News | 27/08/2010 | 69 Comments

(CNS): Members of the opposition party have said they are not surprised by the departure of former tourism minister, Charles Clifford, from the People’s Progressive Movement. Saying he did not want to get into a name calling match with his former Cabinet colleague over the resignation, Alden McLaughlin told CNS that it was not unexpected and had been coming for a long time. In the wake of Clifford’s media announcement criticising the PPM, the opposition leader, Kurt Tibbetts, issued an official statement yesterday on behalf of the whole party. He said that these things were not unusual in politics as there are casualties in the wake of an election, and made no comment about Clifford’s direct criticisms of the party leadership.

"While we regret Charles Clifford’s resignation as a member of the PPM and the PPM Executive, it really comes as little surprise to the Executive,” Tibbetts stated.

“Clifford has had little interest or involvement in PPM matters since the last elections, with the notable exception of his promotion of the proposed march against the government’s proposal to sell the new Government Administration Building. He has not attended any meetings of the PPM Executive since the Executive’s decision not to proceed with the march following the government’s announcement that it had decided not to sell the building.”

Tibbetts pointed out that after an election the losing political party will often face internal disagreements. “In the aftermath of a major election loss by a party it is not uncommon for there to be casualties as the party goes through a period of self analysis and rebuilding and there are differing views about the leadership and direction that should be taken,” he said as he thanked Clifford for his years of service and wished him well for the future.

Although Clifford has not yet made any announcement regarding his political future, it is clear he intends to remain in the political arena.

In a statement about his resignation on Wednesday night, Clifford said both political parties were dysfunctional and criticised the leadership. He also said the PPM was not properly fulfilling its roll as an opposition. “I would have expected the PPM opposition to be much more aggressive and resolute in their objections to the flawed policies of the incumbent government.”

He told CNS that the PPM should be spearheading more active opposition to government and expressing the community’s disappointment with the current administration.

Danielle becomes season’s first major hurricane

Cayman News | 27/08/2010 | 0 Comments

(CNS): Hurricane Danielle has reached category four status and weather forecasters at the hurricane centre in Miami are warning of dangerous surf around Bermuda. Dnielle now has sustained winds over 135 mph and is travelling north-west at 12 mph. On the current track Danielle is still expected to pass well to the east of Bermuda Saturday night but large waves and swells are expected to impact the island and the East coast of the US tomorrow. The NHC warned the swells are likely to cause dangerous rip currents through the weekend.

Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the centre and tropical storm force winds up to 205 miles.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Earl is around 1430 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands still travelling at 17mph. Maximum sustained winds are 45 mph with higher gusts but Earl is expected to gradually strengthen over the next 48 hours and is forecast to become a hurricane by Saturday night. Currently, tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 85 miles from the centre.

Go to NHC site

WA lease may have strings

Cayman News | 27/08/2010 | 53 Comments

(CNS): Acting Premier Juliana O’Connor Connolly has said there is “a distinct possibility” that when government leases the Water Authority, the winning bid will include the development of a water plant on Little Cayman plus a new plant on Cayman Brac’s Bluff, and possibly the extension of piped water on the Brac. Explaining why leasing the authority was necessary, she referred to civil service pay day the day before. “You do not know what it took to get those funds in the bank yesterday,” she said, before taking a dig at the media and headlines suggesting that the Cayman Islands were broke, claiming certain journalists were “going to destroy the country if they keep going in the direction that they are”.

Speaking at the public meeting Thursday morning (26 August), O’Connor Connolly, despite the apparent difficulty paying government workers, described the new $9 million hurricane shelter on Cayman Brac as “an exciting, innovative and necessary project”.

The acting premier, who is also minister with responsibility for District Administration, described the meeting as the first “ministerial clinic”, which she hopes to hold monthly. Answering the first question from a member of the public, which was about the shelter, she said she was “excited to share the truth”. The shelter will be built on 18 acres of land already owned by the government plus an additional three acres purchased from Garston Grant, she said.

Claiming the cost of the completed project will be between $7.5 and $9 million, O’Connor Connolly said the shelter, which will be next to the playing field on the Bluff, will be built in phases as funds are available. The four pods, or wings, which are for the private bedrooms with semi-private bathrooms, allow for a phased construction, the acting premier explained. If funds are available next financial year they will build one pod and if there are more funds, they will build more pods, she said.

The facility will include a medical wing, a laundry, a generator, as well as a proper command centre. There will also be a number of tables in a “cafeteria-style environment” she said, and noted how after Hurricane Ivan people had to stay in the shelters for a protracted time because their homes had been destroyed. “Any community is only as good as it takes care of the most vulnerable,” she added, referring to the elderly, the disabled and children.

The first phase – the main hall – will also be used for indoor sports, she said, suggesting that this was a better investment for young people than paying $60,000 for them to be in prison. The private bedrooms “will provide for the potentiality for use as a hotel training school” and a “residential abode for sports tourism”. The “innovative piece of architecture” will also function as a convention centre, O’Connor Connolly said and claimed, “I have already toughened my skin to receive opposition from within and without.”

Local businessman Elvis McKeever pointed out that Cayman Brac already has 1,800 hurricane shelter spaces as well as houses on the Bluff and there were other things that Cayman Brac needed more, including piped water and dealing with the dump. He also questioned why government was selling off the Water Authority, a money-making entity.

Noting that the authority was not being sold, O’Connor Connolly said it was being used as collateral and would be divested for a period of 25 years. However, government would still have the power to ensure that that the water quality was safe and she said the package would include the current staff, 90% of which was Caymanian.

The Brac water plant was an outstanding matter, but “finally, I get responsibility for water!” she said.

The acting premier explained that the previous minister with responsibility for the Water Authority, Arden McLean, had been persuaded that a water plant in an elevated area of Cayman Brac was necessary,since the current plant is in a depressed area with the risk of the infiltration of saline water to the potable water if it floods in a severe storm. Crown land had been identified and provided on a peppercorn lease for the Water Authority to build a proper bulk water facility on the Bluff (though the project stalled under the previous administration).

After the meeting, CNS asked the minister whether government plans to provide potable water on Little Cayman – an issue that had emerged in public meetings on that island – and a new plant on the Brac, as well as the issue of piped water on the Brac, would be included in the conditions of the lease for the Water Authority. This was “a distinct possibility”, O’Connor Connolly said but “nothing was certain”.

If there was a tie-break in proposals for the lease, she said, they would have to look at the business plans that included these provisions. She said it would depend on what bids came in.

During the meeting O’Connor Connolly bemoaned a 10 cents/ gallon increase in gas on the island, even though no new fuel had arrived, and said she would get the fuel inspector to investigate what was happening.

Amendments to the planning law came under attack by local resident Raymond Scott, who said his business was severely impacted by an “outrageous” increase in the cost of planning permission to remove fill from site to site, which had gone from $100 to $5,000. No one would pay this amount so government would not benefit, he said. Pointing out that this was half the cost of Grand Cayman fees, O’Connor Connolly said this was a matter she had already written to the premier about.

Several people mentioned the bad smell from Salt Water Pond next to the Alexander Hotel. A proposal to develop the pond into a marina had been given Cabinet approval last year, subject to conditions by the departments of Environment and Agriculture, the acting premier said, but the project had not progressed and Cabinet was considering putting time restrictions on the approval.

Scott also said he appreciated the smooth roads, a result of the repaving currently taking place, but wondered if the roads could be widened to 30 feet, rather than 24 feet to accommodate large vehicles. O’Connor Connolly said the shoulders were going to be left in the hope that the Water Authority could pipe water through the island, and also to enhance the shoulders for pedestrians and bicycles.

Cops arrest hit & run driver

Cayman News | 27/08/2010 | 26 Comments

(CNS): Updated Friday 3:30pm – Police have arrested a 20 year old man on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident, dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified. The man was arrested in Bodden Town shortly before 3pm this afternoon in connection with the hit and run of cyclist last night. A woman who was riding a bicycle on Bodden Town Road by Pirates’ Cave was knocked down by a black car which failed to stop. Police said this morning (Friday) that the 37 year old female had suffered serious injuries but was in a stable condition. At around 7:50pm on Thursday 26 August the victim was riding her bike when she was hit by a vehicle which refused to stop, passers by told the 911 Communications center who dispatched police and Medical services to the accident. (Photos Dennie Warren Jr)

The woman was transported to the George Town Hospital where she is still being treated for her injuries which include abdominal and facial injuries as well as cuts to her forearm, head and knee and bruising.

Following an extensive search the vehicle involved in the accident was subsequently located by operational staff last night with the help of the air support unit.

Investigations are continuing into this matter and police would like anyone who was in the area just before or when the accident occurred to call the Traffic office at 9466254, the George Town Police Station at 9494222, Bodden Town Police Station at 9472220 or Crime Stoppers at 800 8477.

Meanwhile, three women were involved in a one vehicle accident in George Town early Friday morning when the driver lost control of the car along North Church Street, near Bodden Road. At about 6.15 am on Friday 27 August the vehicle was travelling in a Northern direction when the accident occurred and the car ended up on its side The 3 passengers aged 50, 39 and 23 were attended by medicsand taken to the George Town Hospital where no injuries were reported.

Tom Jones claims go to trial

Cayman News | 26/08/2010 | 21 Comments

(CNS): Following a decision by the Grand Court, the Cayman Islands government will be forced to settle its dispute with former schools contractor Tom Jones International at trial. The general contractor had been awarded both the government public high school projects at the John Gray Campus in George Town and the Clifton Hunter campus in Frank Sound but walked off the jobs in November last year. The contractor claimed that government had not paid its bills and that it was in dispute with the education ministry regarding add-ons and overruns of some $17 million. TJI filed a claim in Grand Court against government, which in turn applied to have the claims dismissed.

However, the court has found that the issues raised by the parties require a full trial. In a statement released by the education ministry on Thursday, the government said it looked forward to presenting its case at the trial in due course.

“To that end, the government will now proceed to set out the full details of its financial claims against TJI,” government officials said. During the ruling the judge revealed that government had not detailed its counterclaim against TJI but government said it now intended to reveal its case against the contractor.

“The term ‘forensically embarrassing’ is used in the judgment in connection with the government’s counterclaim. This is a legal term, which simply means “’lacking in detail’. The government did not feel that it was appropriate to incur the costs of setting out its counterclaim in full until it was clear that the matter would go to a full trial. The Court has now found that the issues raised by the parties do require a full trial and, accordingly, the government will now proceed to set out the full details of its claim against TJI,” the ministry said in the statement.

Following its departure from the sites in November 2009, TJI accused government of not demonstrating that it had the financial resources to complete the projects. It said the school development projects were “ill-conceived, poorly executed, over-indulgent, and insufficiently funded,” and the Ministry of Education had made more than 85 significant changes to the original plans totalling as much as CI$17 million that it had not budgeted for.

Since TJI walked away, with the exception of some maintenance work conducted by local subcontractors, the sites have remained idle for around nine months. The government began seeking construction management services earlier this year and went through a tendering process, which was abandoned after government decided to phase the development of the schools. The deadline for the latest tenders is tomorrow 27 August.

Meanwhile, the court’s judgment in this case became a public document on Thursday evening and CNS intends to publish details as soon as it is able to get a copy.

Chuckie resigns from PPM

Cayman News | 26/08/2010 | 75 Comments

(CNS): Full story — Following what he described as the opposition’s failure to respond adequately to the current government’s flawed policies, the former tourism minister has resigned from the People’s Progressive Movement. Charles Clifford says his former Cabinet colleagues are not providing the focal point for the community to express its disappointment and disagreement with government policy that an opposition party should. The PPM has not been aggressive enough in opposing the UDP administration and the policies it has implemented since coming to office and both parties were “dysfunctional”, he said. Clifford suggested the PPM needed to take a more active role in opposing what was happening and lead the community against government policies, such as tax hikes, that are undermining the economy.

Clifford has not given a clear indication of where his political future now lies but he has officially parted company from the political party with which he was elected to office in 2005.

He joined the PPM after resigning from his position as permanent secretary in the Tourism Ministry in 2004 with the then minister, McKeeva Bush. During the campaign Clifford had focused heavily on what he suggested were the corrupt policies and behaviour of the previous administration. He was later to face a tribunal for taking Cabinet papers and blowing the whistle on what were questionable financial dealings of the 2001-2005 UDP government in connection with the development of Boatswain Beach.

Since that hearing Clifford has persistently questioned why his removal of governmentpapers was more of an issue that what appears to be the less than transparent issues surrounding payments made to various parties involved in the project with public money.

Clifford has never shied away from controversy and said Wednesday that he believed both of Cayman’s political parties were dysfunctional and said the country was in dire need of a change of policy when it comes to local politics.

“Since leaving office in May 2009, I have reflected on a number of occurrences and contemplated where we are as a country and where we should be heading. I have not taken this decision lightly. But for my entire adult life I have always put country before self and my loyalties will always rest first and foremost with my country and not with a political party,” he said.

Clifford, who lost his seat at the 2009 election, coming in a few votes behind the UDP backbencher Dwayne Seymour in Bodden Town, recently proposed a march on the Glass House to demonstrate to government the dissatisfaction of the people over the proposal to sell the new government administration building and, among other issues, immigration policy. However, he was not backed by his party colleagues, despite the fact that the threat alone had delivered a clear message to government and saw the premier back down from selling the new government office.

He said there was room for far more civic action, which the political leaders should be directing, but he said the PPM MLAs did nothing more than go on the radio and raise objections in the Legislative Assembly, which fell on deaf ears.

The former Cabinet minister said he still believed in the concept of organised party politics but

Cayman had adopted the wrong model, not least because the two local parties were born as a result of the so-called 2001 coup and are nothing more than marriages of convenience.

“As with all marriages of convenience they have become dysfunctional and more focused on campaigning than on addressing the complex issues facing our country,” he said, adding that they were both in the midst of a leadership crisis and neither of them have properly functioning branches outside of their West Bay and George Town bases.

He also pointed to the lack of any real difference in the ideologies of the two political parties. “It seems that there are no real differences between the PPM and the UDP on the macro policies relating to the economy, environment, immigration, growth management, human capital development, social programmes and strategic planning for Cayman’s future for the next 50 years,” Clifford stated. “If there were real differences, I would have expected the PPM opposition to be much more aggressive and resolute in their objections to the flawed policies of the incumbent government.”

As they have in the past, Clifford said the Caymanian people could lead the way towards a new modern democratic political regime that is appropriate for Cayman’s unique society. “In every generation of Caymanians we have always had people who did the right thing to ensure our success. Let us keep that trend going and let us not be the generation that failed our country,” he added.

Although Clifford said he has not made any firm decisions about where his own political future now lies, he described himself as right of centre with very specific fundamental political beliefs, which he promised to discuss with CNS in a future interview.

He was, however, certain that the Cayman Islands cannot exist in a vacuum for it is a part of the global village. He encouraged the many talented Caymanians out there who are politically aware but who have dismissed the thought of ever seeking political office to reconsider. “I once thought that way too but I realised in 2004 that there have always been and must continue to be people who are prepared to make the sacrifice for the sake of our country,” he said, as he asked his fellow Caymanians to step up and begin to reshape the country’s political landscape.

Prisoner free after appeal

Cayman News | 25/08/2010 | 16 Comments

(CNS): A man who was serving a ten year sentence in Northward HMP, having been convicted on a firearms charge, walked free this morning following his acquittal by the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal. The president Sir John Chadwick (left), apologised to David Whorms over the length of time it had taken for his appeal to be dealt with and told him he was free to go. Although the crown had applied for a retrial when the court handed down its written judgment allowing the appeal on the 2008 conviction for possession of an unlicensed firearm, the court said the prosecution’s case was not strong enough to warrant a retrial and acquitted Whorms. The conviction was overturned based on a misdirection of the trial judge, Justice Williams, to the jury.

The Court of Appeal found that the judge had not explained to the jury clearly enough that another individual, Cary Esteban, who was with Whorms on the night of the arrest and the discovery of the gun, could have also been in possession of the weapon.

“In our view the jury needed to be directed … that before they could be sure the weapon was in the possession of Mr Whorms … they must be satisfied that it was not, in fact, in the possession of Mr Esteban,” the president of the Court of Appeal wrote.

During the trial, evidence had pointed to Esteban having some involvement with the weapon that was found in the car occupied by Whorms, Esteban, and a third man, Donald Nixon, by police, after they were pulled over while driving in the Cayman Kai area on the night of New Year’s Day 2008.

The loaded .38 calibre Smith & Weston revolver was found by one of the police officers under the passenger seat where Esteban was sitting. Later, a spent .38 shell was found at Esteban’s home and gunshot residue was found on Esteban’s T-shirt following specialist tests.

However, charges were dropped against Esteban and were only brought against Whorms, whose DNA was found on the weapon. His defence attorney had argued that the DNA could have made it on to the gun through transference when he was arrested and the gun found, as an expert witness had testified that it was secondary DNA.

The appeal court judges said the members of the jury were entitled to reject the notion of transference but they had not been properly directed when it came to dismissing the possibility that on the night of the arrest Whorms may not have been in possession of the gun because someone else was.

The judges said the jury should have been directed that, even though Esteban was not on trial, they needed to consider if he could have been in possession of the weapon. Unless they were satisfied he was not, they could not be sure it was Whorms.

“If they could not be sure of that they could not convict him,” the Court of Appeal stated. “We are unable to avoid the conclusion that there was a misdirection in this case. That misdirection was, in our view, sufficiently material to render the verdict of the jury unsafe."

The original crown counsel in the case was not available when the judgment was delivered, and while a request was made for a retrial by the prosecuting lawyer who was holding, she was unable to offer an argument since she was unfamiliar with the facts of the trial.

The Court of Appeal criticized the crown for not being prepared for the possibility of the court allowing the appeal. “Somebody in the Legal Department should have addressed their minds to the possibility that this would be overturned,” the president noted.

The court said it did not feel that in the interests of justice a new trial was required as the crown’s case was not strong enough and the appellant had already served 33 months – almost three years — in jail as a result of his period of remand following his arrest and then ongoing delays in hearing the appeal.