(Trinidad Guardian) After spending almost 17 years in prison and facing three trials, five men convicted of kidnapping a businesswoman and allegedly burying her alive have been set free.
Delivering a judgement, yesterday morning, Appellate Judges Alice Yorke-Soo Hon, Mark Mohammed and Prakash Moosai upheld an appeal from Phillip “The Boss” Boodram, Roger Mootoo, Ricky Singh, Kervin Williams, and Aaron “Arc Eye” Grappie over their manslaughter conviction and the 28 year-sentence they received.
The appeal panel’s decision in the case was due to multiple errors made by the High Court Judge, who presided over their second retrial in 2016, which the judges claimed left them with a “lurking doubt” as to whether their convictions were safe and satisfactory.
Justice Yorke-Soo Hon, who delivered the panel decision, said: “In our view, given the serious nature of the errors made by the trial judge, the multiple material irregularities identified, along with the fact that the fairness of the trial was severely compromised due to the adverse publicity during the course of the trial, combined with the issues surrounding the evidence of the prosecution’s main witness, Roderique, our hands are tied and we have no alternative but to allow this appeal.”
After delivering its judgement, the appeal panel gave the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) an opportunity to consider whether it wanted to pursue a third retrial for the group.
Deputy DPP Joan Honore-Paul returned after a short break and informed the court that a retrial was not required given the outcome of the group’s trial and retrial and the issues raised with the second retrial, which were the subject of the appeal.
The men were discharged and thanked the appeal panel for their decision.
The group’s appeal centred around the State’s case against them which was exclusively based on the testimony of Nigel “Cat” Roderique, who claimed that he was present at a meeting at which the kidnapping was planned, and at Samdaye Rampersad’s eventual death.
Roderique also alleged that Rampersad was kidnapped as he and the men wrongly believed that she was the mother of a man who allegedly owed Boodram $700,000.
In the appeal, the group’s lawyers contended that the judge, who presided over their trial, made multiple errors in advising the jury on how to consider the credibility and reliability of Roderique’s evidence.
They are also claimed that the judge limited their defence attorneys’ questions over Roderique being allowed to plead guilty to felony murder in a separate but similar murder case before he implicated them.
The appeal panel agreed with their complaints over the judge’s handling of Roderique’s evidence.
“In our view, the judge ought to have directed the jury on these issues in a manner in which it would not have been lost on them that they were entitled to take into account any similarities in determining whether Roderique might have been responsible for both deaths and any impact that this might have in relation to his credibility,” the panel said in its executive summary.
“The judge also failed to properly marshall the evidence of the bad blood between Roderique and the appellants which may have justified the inference that Roderique’s evidence was tainted,” it added.
The panel also upheld the men’s claim that the trial was compromised as the judge dismissed concerns over a series of controversial reports published during the trial, which alleged that Boodram was being investigated in relation to the alleged kidnapping of a teacher, who was alleged in a relationship with his daughter.
“We are of the view that an informed and fair-minded observer, who considered the impugned print and media publications, would conclude that there was the real possibility of bias affecting the mind or minds of one or more jurors,” it said.
The group was represented by Edward Fiztgerald, QC, Paul Taylor, QC, Rajiv Persad, John Heath, Kelston Pope and Gabrielle Hernandez. The State was also represented by Assistant DPP Tricia Hudlin-Cooper.