Court of Appeal orders retrial for Calvester Herbert, Patrick Weekes
By Terresa McCall
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CONVICTION and judgment in the case of murder, attempted murder and having a firearm in possession with intent to endanger life brought against Patrick ‘Southy’ Weekes and Calvester ‘Cally’ Herbert have been set aside and the duo are to be retried as soon as possible.
The decision was made yesterday by the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, headed by Chief Justice His Lordship Hugh Anthony Rawlins, at the Sir Lee Llewellyn More Judicial and Legal Services Complex in Basseterre.
The incident which led to the three charges being brought against the men is said to have taken place on September 4, 2003, when Weekes and Herbert, according to the prosecution’s case, caused the death of Gerard Saddler and wounded his companion, Glen Liburd, with the aid of a firearm.
The men were found guilty of all offences during the May 2005 Criminal Assizes and Weekes was sentenced to life imprisonment on the murder charge, seven years imprisonment on the attempted murder charge and 14 years imprisonment on the charge of having a firearm in possession with intent to endanger life.
Herbert, however, was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment on the charge of murder, five years on the attempted murder charge and14 years imprisonment on the charge of having a firearm in possession with intent to endanger life.
Both appellants are represented by Dr. Henry Browne, who, in an application before the court, contends that conviction of the men which took place at the High Court of Justice should be overturned because, among other things, there was not enough evidence to prove the prosecution’s case of “joint enterprise, there is no evidence that appellant number two (Herbert) engaged in any illegal activity, and also that the trial judge did not properly instruct the jury on matters pertaining to joint enterprise and the law as is related to the evidence in the case”.
After arguments were heard from the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Justices of Appeal, headed by Chief Justice the Honourable Hugh Anthony Rawlins, ruled that the conviction and sentence of the High Court of Justice be “set aside” and a re-trial of both men was ordered.
The ordered trial would make the third time that the men would be standing before the High Court for the same case. They had first appeared during the January 2005 Criminal Assizes, where a jury was unable to agree upon a verdict. As a result, the case was traversed to the May 2005 Criminal Assizes, where the men were convicted.
