The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has succeeded in its appeal of the premature dismissal of a murder charge against a man, who was subsequently murdered.
Delivering a judgment yesterday morning, Appellate Judges Prakash Moosai, Mark Mohammed, and Malcolm Holdip upheld the appeal from the DPP’s Office in the case of Kerlan “Mice Man” George.
In pursuing the appeal, the DPP’s Office accepted that the outcome would not have an impact on its inability to now prosecute George, who was murdered in 2017. However, it called upon the Appeal Court to weigh in on an over three-decade-old legal precedent on a judge’s discretion to dismiss a case before a jury in circumstances where the evidence against an accused person is found to be manifestly unreliable.
George was charged with murdering former Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) foreman Andrew “Bellies” John in December 2006.
In February 2011, George was freed by former High Court Judge Andre Mon Desir who upheld a no-case submission at the end of the prosecution’s case because of the evidence of John’s wife, Nirmala Solomon.
Solomon, who was allegedly present at Wharf Trace, Maracas/St Joseph, when her husband was shot nine times, was deemed a hostile witness as her evidence at trial differed from previous statements given to the police.
Justice Mon Desir ruled that her evidence was manifestly unreliable and no reasonable tribunal could properly convict George based on it.
In upholding the appeal, Justice Mohammed, who delivered the panel’s judgment, said the case of Sangit Chaitlal, which was used by Justice Mon Desir in deciding the case, was wrongly decided.
He agreed with former Deputy DPP George Busby, who has since been appointed a High Court Judge, and attorney Jagdeo Singh, who represented George in the case amicus curiae (as a friend of the court), that the comprehensive process enunciated in the case of Galbraith should have been applied.
The appeal panel declined to give guidance to High Court Masters, who perform sufficiency hearings before trials, as it did not receive full legal arguments on the issue.
Justice Mohammed ruled that his colleague was wrong to not allow prosecutors to tender evidence that suggested that Solomon’s hostility at trial was due to her being fearful for her life. He also ruled that the judge should have allowed the jury to consider Solomon’s previous statements and her inconsistent testimony at trial to determine her credibility.
George was murdered almost six years after he was freed of the charge and while the appeal was still pending. On January 19, 2017, he and his friend Shameel “Kazim” Ali were on their way to the St Joseph Police Station when they were ambushed by gunmen who shot them several times.
George was also represented by Renuka Rambhajan, Vere Marie Khan, and Lana Lakhan.
