Carlyle Barton
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Bibi Shalimar Ali-Hack has instructed that the Preliminary lnquiry (Pl) into the murder of a man on Orange Walk earlier this year allegedly by Carlyle Barton be re-opened.
The decision was made in accordance with Section 72 (2iia) of the Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, 10: 01.
In November, Magistrate Fabayo Azore discharged the case at the PI stage after police witnesses did not show up and video evidence of the murder was not rendered, saying that a prima facie case was not made.
The video evidence showed the cricketer when he allegedly shot Nelson, with whom he had a longstanding friendship.
A release issued by the DPP chambers stated that in a letter dated December 16, to Magistrate Azore, the DPP has directed that the Pl be re-opened for some witnesses to complete their testimony and to allow for other witnesses who had not testified during the first Pl, to be given the opportunity to do so.
Subsequent to the discharge of the accused, a perusal of the police file revealed that there was a need for certain investigations to be carried out. On the DPP’s advice, the file was sent to the police on December 6, for these investigations to be carried out. On December 11, the police file was returned to the DPP’s Chambers for further legal advice and is presently in the hands of the prosecutor.
Justice to be served
Hours after the magistrate’s decision was handed down, relatives of the dead man vented their frustration, calling for justice to be served. During a recent interview with this newspaper, Police Complaints Authority (PCA) Chairman, retired Justice Cecil Kennard said that disciplinary actions should be taken against the errant police ranks, who failed to testify in the said case.
Kennard, a former chancellor of the judiciary, said it was sad that despite the fact that sufficient evidence was gathered for the case, the police ranks did not show up in court. “If it is a case where the police ranks all teamed up and decided not to give evidence in the case, then I think that they should be charged with conspiring to defeat the course of justice.” But, the police will have to determine if that was the case.
He added that this is one of the issues that have been hampering the judicial system over the years, and will take some time to correct unless something drastic happens. The retired justice also highlighted that another sad affair was the missing footage of the shooting, which was supposed to be presented in court.
Magistrate Azore had announced that she was forced to set Barton free, owing to the lack of evidence since the witnesses failed to show up. Barton made his first court appearance on May 28 before Magistrate Sueanna Lovell and was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which stated that on May 27 at Orange Walk, he murdered Nelson.
The matter was then transferred to another court where the PI commenced.
As the PI continued, several prosecution witnesses did not show up to testify, which brought a halt to the proceedings and forced the case to be adjourned.
The entire shooting incident was captured by surveillance cameras and based on the evidence, the cricketer was charged with the man’s death. The surveillance recording that was collected from a nearby business was reportedly not presented in court.
