Closing arguments were made yesterday at the High Court and the trial of Delon Henry called `Nasty Man’ is expected to conclude tomorrow.
Henry is currently on trial for the 2015 murder of Dexter Griffith who was shot several times about the body on September 29 while sitting on a chair in front of his house at ‘Warlock’, East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme.
Prior to the Prosecution and Defence presenting their arguments to the jury, Henry was called to lead his defence by Justice Sandil Kissoon, who offered the accused the option of remaining silent, giving an unsworn statement from where he stood in the docks or entering the witness box to give a sworn statement.
Having heard his options, Henry moved to give an unsworn statement from the docks during which he maintained his innocence in relation to the murder charge instituted against him.
“Yuh honour on the first day I was arrested I denied the allegation. I do not even know the area known as Warlock, I does live till pon the East Bank. All the officers coming to me questioning me I tell them I don’t know about no killing or shooting of anybody. I complain to them that I did not know about the murder,” Henry said in open court.
Meanwhile, Defence Attorney Adrian Thompson in his closing argument placed emphasis on what he said has been an attempt by the police to pin a murder on his client, a murder that he did not commit.
He contended that not only was the photographic Identification Parade done “grossly unfair” but that the police did not conduct a proper investigation of the alleged murder.
According to Thompson, the mere fact that Henry’s photo had been published by a newspaper listing him as a suspect in the said murder, just one day prior to him being identified by the brother of the deceased during a photo ID parade, presents some form of bias towards his client.
Further, the attorney suggested that the investigators of the murder lapsed in conducting a proper investigation and as such decided to pin the murder on Henry due to him having a “colourful past.”
Meanwhile, State Counsel Orinthia Schmidt argued that the jury had the best piece of evidence before them as she alluded to the eyewitness testimony presented in open court by Kishawn Griffith, brother of the dead man.
She noted that contrary to claims made by Thompson regarding the young man’s testimony, Kishawn Griffith was a credible witness.
Schmidt asked the jury not to be distracted by the defence’s claim that the photographic ID Parade was unfair, before alluding to Kishawn Griffith’s testimony as the best piece of evidence once more.
“The police are not trying to pin anything on the accused, Kishwan Griffith is not trying to pin anything on the accused. He (Henry) is here because he is the one who shot Dexter Griffith,” Schmidt told the jury.
The trial is expected to continue tomorrow with a summation of all that has been presented during the trial by Justice Kissoon followed by deliberations by the jury.
