JUSTICE Franklyn Holder, the presiding judge in the Mahaica felony murder trial, has completed the hearing of defence no-case submissions, which he began conducting in the absence of the jury some days ago.He has reserved his ruling for this morning when he will deliver his decision in relation to the no-case submissions by defence counsel, Mr. Trenton Lake for the number one accused Orrin David and Mr. George Thomas for the number two accused, Shawn Thom.

According to the prosecution’s case, the accused Shawn Thom and Orin David, on a motorcycle on August 20, 2010 staged a robbery/murder at Hope, East Coast Demerara, which led to the death of Lakhram Bishundial, called ‘Mohan’
They have pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution, conducted by Senior State Counsel Mrs. Judith Mursalin, has called 14 witnesses, including three eyewitnesses who gave an account of what they had seen to the jury.
But at the close of the prosecution’s case, the defence counsel elected to make no-case submissions in the absence of the jury, expecting that their clients would be freed on points of law at this stage, without the matter having to be determined by the jury.
The prosecutrix suitably replied and the judge disclosed that he would rule this morning.
In the event that the no-case submissions are accepted in relation to both accused, the judge will free the accused at this stage and direct the mixed jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty,
But should the submissions be overruled, the judge is expected to call on the accused for a defence before the jury – the judges of the facts – at the substantive trial, when the jury after hearing the defence and addresses by counsel on both sides and the summing-up of the evidence, with directions on the law by the trial judge, will retire to consider their verdict of guilty or not guilty.