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AT the Essequibo Assizes before presiding judge Justice Frank Holder, two murder accused were recently freed on no-case submissions with respect to two different murders in 2008 and 2009 respectively. They are Julius Jones who was accused of the murder of Errol James on May 25, 2008, and Michele Atkinson for the murder of Mohamed Talbot on February 15 , 2009.
The prosecution was conducted by Mrs.Tashana Lake and the defence attorney in both cases was Miss Latchmie Rahamat.
In the first case in which Jones is alleged to have murdered James, the prosecution relied on a caution statement which was allegedly given by the accused and it was admitted in evidence by the trial judge. The prosecution closed its case after the testimony of five witnesses.
At the close of the prosecution’s case the defence made a no-case submission claiming that basically the only evidence against the accused was the caution statement, which raised self-defence on behalf of the accused. According to the defence counsel, there was nothing to negate the claim of self-defence.
In the caution statement the accused said that he was attacked by the deceased with a cutlass and broad-sided with the weapon three times before hitting him on his head with a gun, thereby inflicting a wound.
Both men had been workmates and the deceased, the senior man, sought to have the accused sacked. The accused picked up his bag and was on his way out when he told the deceased that he was going to report to the warden and the police what he (the deceased) had done, when according to him the deceased abused him and went to collect a gun from an engine, when the accused picked up a gun, shot the deceased, dropped the gun, and ran away.
Agreeing with the submission, the judge directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty in favour of the accused.
In the second murder case Michele Atkinson had allegedly murdered Mohamed Talbot on 15th of February at Kurupung Landing, Mazaruni River.
The prosecution had called five witnesses and tendered a caution statement which was not objected to by the defence.
At the close of the prosecution’s case the defence submitted a no-case submission alleging that there was an insufficiency of evidence to prove the elements of murder and referred to the alleged confession statement as ambiguous.
The offence is alleged to have been committed after the couple had been sporting on Valentine’s Night where they had imbibed a lot of drinks. The deceased was allegedly stabbed to death.
But the caution statement recorded her as saying, “I can’t recall how I came to stab him but it got to happen in the bedroom.”
The defence was saying that those words alone could not prove that the accused committed the offence because also written in the caution statement were the words, “Officer Crawford came to the lockups and asked me if I know what I do and I told him no.”
The caution statement also recorded the accused as saying that “when I woke up in the lockup and was told by the policeman that Mohamed was dead I left speechless because I did not believe it.”
The trial judge upheld the no-case submission and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
The prosecution was conducted by Mrs.Tashana Lake and the defence attorney in both cases was Miss Latchmie Rahamat.
In the first case in which Jones is alleged to have murdered James, the prosecution relied on a caution statement which was allegedly given by the accused and it was admitted in evidence by the trial judge. The prosecution closed its case after the testimony of five witnesses.
At the close of the prosecution’s case the defence made a no-case submission claiming that basically the only evidence against the accused was the caution statement, which raised self-defence on behalf of the accused. According to the defence counsel, there was nothing to negate the claim of self-defence.
In the caution statement the accused said that he was attacked by the deceased with a cutlass and broad-sided with the weapon three times before hitting him on his head with a gun, thereby inflicting a wound.
Both men had been workmates and the deceased, the senior man, sought to have the accused sacked. The accused picked up his bag and was on his way out when he told the deceased that he was going to report to the warden and the police what he (the deceased) had done, when according to him the deceased abused him and went to collect a gun from an engine, when the accused picked up a gun, shot the deceased, dropped the gun, and ran away.
Agreeing with the submission, the judge directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty in favour of the accused.
In the second murder case Michele Atkinson had allegedly murdered Mohamed Talbot on 15th of February at Kurupung Landing, Mazaruni River.
The prosecution had called five witnesses and tendered a caution statement which was not objected to by the defence.
At the close of the prosecution’s case the defence submitted a no-case submission alleging that there was an insufficiency of evidence to prove the elements of murder and referred to the alleged confession statement as ambiguous.
The offence is alleged to have been committed after the couple had been sporting on Valentine’s Night where they had imbibed a lot of drinks. The deceased was allegedly stabbed to death.
But the caution statement recorded her as saying, “I can’t recall how I came to stab him but it got to happen in the bedroom.”
The defence was saying that those words alone could not prove that the accused committed the offence because also written in the caution statement were the words, “Officer Crawford came to the lockups and asked me if I know what I do and I told him no.”
The caution statement also recorded the accused as saying that “when I woke up in the lockup and was told by the policeman that Mohamed was dead I left speechless because I did not believe it.”
The trial judge upheld the no-case submission and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
