AN elated Morris Prince walked out of the Demerara High Court on Monday (February 11, 2019), a free man, after a 12-member jury found him not guilty of the alleged 2016 murder of his friend, Oriley Small.

After more than three hours of deliberations, the jury emerged and the forewoman announced a unanimous not-guilty verdict.

After this disclosure in the crowded courtroom of Court Three, Justice Navindra Singh told the accused, Morris Prince, that he was free to go.

It was then the relatives of Prince screamed out in relief and exited the courtroom to greet and embrace him, as they walked out the Demerara High Court in unison, and in quite a celebratory mood.

According to the indictment, it was alleged that, on March 19, 2016, in the county of Demerara, Morris Prince murdered Oriley Small.

Upon the presentation of the indictment, the accused, Morris Prince, pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and, as such, a trial commenced in which 19 witnesses testified.

On the day in question, the deceased, Oriley Small, a businessman, was riddled by bullets as he was entering his yard at Lot 2 Smyth Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, by a lone gunman, who fled the scene.

Following the murder, two persons were arrested for the crime but only Morris Prince was charged for the offence.

A post-mortem revealed that the deceased, Small, died from multiple gunshot injuries. He was shot nine times to the body.

The State was represented by Tuanna Hardy, Abigail Gibbs and Teriq Mohamed, while the accused retained the services of defence attorney, Mark Waldron.