Zion Clarke

Washington-based attorney, Jeffrey O’Toole, told the jury his client, Zion Clarke, who helped cut up Balram ‘Balo’ Maharaj’s body in the forest, was not a leader but a follower. O’Toole said Clarke was not involved in any conspiracy to kidnap ‘Balo’, a US citizen. Clarke was one of the seven Trinidadians found guilty of taking ‘Balo’ hostage and is now facing a possible life sentence in a US prison before Judge John Bates on February 12 next year. O’Toole added: “You’re going to learn that he’s not a leader. You’re going to learn that Mr Zion Clarke is a follower. “You’re going to learn from the teacher and from school records that in each of the years he was in school, for which they have records, he ranked last in his school.

Last in each of the school years. “You’re going to find there’s allegations that this was a conspiracy. You’re going to find that by reputation and by actual records Mr Clarke was not an organiser, he was not a planner and he did not join in or was not involved in this conspiracy. “I am going to come back to you at the end and I’m going to ask you to find that Mr Zion Clarke is innocent of the charges, as he sits there now, innocent. “And as Mr Jonathan Zucker told you, one of the hardest things to do is to believe in the presumption of innocence, is not to pick one side or the other from the early stages on. But I think it’s been told to you articulately, and I would ask you to assume the same things for Mr Clarke.”

O’Toole continued: “Mr Zucker also went through, and each of the counsel has gone through talking about who you’re going to hear from and who the four witnesses are, at least who have pled guilty and have agreed to testify on behalf of the Government. “And I think that what I was going to tell you, very mildly, is that you have to listen to the testimony of these witnesses with suspicion, because the words that they have a reason to lie, were not said for nothing. “But Mr Zucker went on, and in great detail, told you about who these witnesses are and what they’re going to be telling you. “And I think you have to listen with tremendous suspicion to each and every one of these men because what they have to gain is to not get what they have to lose.

“And they’re coming here to testify to you and you’re going to hear testimony from some of them, not all of them, because not all of them even knew Zion Clarke. You have to listen to their testimony with great suspicion. “During the course of the trial, we’re going to hear and everybody’s told you it’s going to be a long trial. During the course of the trial, we’re going to learn a lot about a culture and about a country that’s not ours. “We’re going to learn during that trial about not only what the Government’s accusations are, but you’re going to learn about the individuals. You’re going to learn about, for one thing, about my client, Zion Clarke.”

The defence attorney told the court: “Some of the ways you’re going to hear about him is through, I think, testimony that I’m going to ask you not to believe that comes from people who have a lot to lose. “But you’re also going to hear a lot about Mr Clarke from individuals who will have travelled here from Trinidad to testify and to tell you about him. “They will be friends of his. They will be employers of his. They will be teachers of his and they’ll be family members of his. “These people will tell you of him and they will tell you that he is the father of five, and that he provides for his children through farming and through landscaping. “His employer will talk about him. Each of them will talk about characteristics that he has. And you’re going to learn that he’s a peaceful and a gentle man. “You’re going to find, there are allegations that this was a conspiracy. You’re going to find that by reputation and by actual records, Mr Clarke was not an organiser.

He was not a planner and he did not join in or was not involved in this conspiracy. “I think most important, most importantly, you’re going to learn that Zion Clarke is not an individual who would ever, ever harm anybody intentionally. He’s a gentle man and not somebody who would harm somebody on purpose.” O’Toole concluded: “It is the burden of these individuals, the United States of America, that puts on these very, very serious charges with enormous consequences, and puts the evidence on through witnesses who have an enormous amount to lose, unfathomable amount to lose. “And I’m going to ask you to find that the Government has failed in its effort to prove that Zion Clarke is guilty of any of these charges.”