DPP gives notice of appeal as accused freed
KENNISE Glasgow called ‘Zachey’ or ‘Juma’ and Dexter Headley alias ‘Mas’, who were indicted at the Demerara Assizes for the murder of Davechand Appanna on August 17, 2004, have been acquitted.
Justice Winston Patterson, after conducting separate inquiries, ruled, on Tuesday, that alleged confession statements, which the police claimed were given by the two prisoners about the Non Pariel killing, had not been obtained in accordance with the Judges’ Rules.
Leading State Prosecutor Teschana James-Lake was in the process of putting the two attestations in evidence when defence counsel Basil Williams and Maxwell Mc Kay objected, resulting in the judge conducting a separate voir dire (trial within a trial) for each.
After the smaller trials in which witnesses testified, Justice Patterson excluded the testaments as inadmissible, resulting in James-Lake submitting that the prosecution would not be leading further evidence.
At that stage, Williams and McKay contended there was no case for the accused to answer but, because the jurors were put in charge of the prisoners, the judge directed the jury to formally return verdicts of not guilty.
However, before the freed men could be discharged, James-Lake, associated with Judith  Gildharie-Mursalin, acting on behalf of the Director of  Public  Prosecutions (DPP),  indicated that the latter wished to invoke the recently enacted law that allows  the State to appeal against the verdict of a court.
The legislation, the Court of Appeal (Amendment) Act 2010, provides that, where the DPP elects to appeal to the Court of Appeal against a verdict of acquittal or sentence, the DPP shall, before the trial judge discharges the accused or orders otherwise, serve, on the Court, a notice of intention to appeal and inform the Court orally.
Consequently, on an application by Williams, Glasgow and Headley were, each, allowed $50,000 bail.
The Court of Appeal (Amendment) Act 2010 confers the right of appeal on the DPP in, among other cases, those of murder, treason, manslaughter and rape.