Number of murder cases in once-safe Hanover concerns judge
Published:Wednesday | November 23, 2022 | 12:11 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Justice Courtney Daye has expressed concern about the number of murder cases down for trial in the Michaelmas sitting of the Hanover Circuit Court, noting that the history of that parish was a very peaceful one.
In addressing an opening ceremony of that court on Monday, Daye argued that in previous visits to the parish in his capacity as a trial judge, he would be given one box containing files for cases listed for trial, but on Monday he was given three boxes.
There are approximately 122 cases listed for trial in the present circuit court session that is expected to continue for four weeks, 95 of which have been traversed from the last sitting, while 27 are new committals. Twenty of the cases listed for trial are for murder.
“Hanover is one of the safest parishes in the island based on police statistics, and the people of the parish have a responsibility to keep it so,” Justice Daye stated.
“The area that I am concerned with is the amount of murders that are on the list,” he said, explaining that the circuit court is where murder cases are dealt with.
While not pointing out how many of the murder cases listed for trial are new or have traversed from the previous circuit court sittings, Justice Daye stated that the older murder cases will be given priority during the current sitting, with a view to protecting the rights of the accused.
“The approach is to try the older cases first – the older murder cases, any case that is in the system for up to five years – because there is a legal aspect to it,” he emphasised.
The trial judge appealed for support from all stakeholders to facilitate the dispensing as many of the cases as possible during the one-month sitting, arguing that no circuit court can be successful without the participation and cooperation of all concerned. He named the judges, police officers, lawyers, court registrars, witnesses and jurors as some of the main stakeholders in the system.
Justice Daye said that the number of cases now before the Hanover Circuit Court are not there because the system is failing. Instead, it is due to reasons such as the suspension of jury trials because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and because some new types of crimes are being committed within the parish.
Meanwhile, prosecuting attorneys in the opening session of the court promised their full cooperation in seeing to the shortening of the list by the end of the session.
“The list is long, the time is short, the need for justice is urgent, and we will ensure that there is a dent on the list by the end of this circuit,” one prosecuting attorney stated.
Hanover has been drifting from its former reputation as a safe parish with a 16.2 per cent increase in murders since the start of the year, with 43 people being killed up to November 16. The parish is among the areas across the island now blanketed by states of emergency to rein in the crime wave.