BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - A young man convicted of murder was on Tuesday (Nov. 27) told to consult a lawyer because he was incapable of defending himself.
Appearing before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal headed by Chief Justice Janice Pereira, former St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force Private Louis Richards made an attempt to appeal his murder conviction but failed miserably.
He was convicted on October 14, 2008 for the August 3, 2007 incident.
Richards, when called to the prison dock for his case to be heard, indicated that he had no legal representation and was capable of self-representation. But, shortly after the beginning of his presentation, it was quite clear that he was not qualified for the undertaking.
His grounds for appeal were:
1. The trial judge erred in the direction of the jury;
2. The verdict arrived at by the jury was perverse; and
3. His sentence was excessive.
Richards had begun his argument by trying to give a synopsis of what occurred on the night of the incident.
He then claimed that the prosecution, during the trial, described him as a mad man.
He asked: "How can they claim that I am a mad man when I only fired one shot?"
The Justices then asked if he was telling the court that he had a clear head when he shot the deceased.
They went on to tell Richards that the jury heard evidence of several witnesses who testified to what they saw him do, noting that none of them saw the person with a gun pointed at him.
Richards continued in his attempt to argue his appeal, stating that the lawyer who represented him at trial made submissions that said he acted in self defence, which were rejected by the trial judge who claimed there was enough evidence for murder.
The Justices then told Richards that the jury listened to and accepted the evidence of the witnesses and returned a guilty verdict.
"It seems you are trying to retry your case," one Justice told Richards.
At this point, realising that Richards was unable to provide adequate representation, Acting Director of Public Prosecution Rhonda Nisbett-Browne rose to request the adjournment of the appeal to allow him time to seek an attorney to do such.
The Justices agreed and, after consideration was given, Richards concurred.
The matter was then adjourned pending legal representation for Richards.
According to evidence in the case, on the night in question, Richards was shot while at the Lovers’ Bar in Old Road.
Sometime later, he returned and fired a shot which struck Addren ‘Ado’ Searles in his arm.
He also shot Clyde Williams who succumbed to his injuries.
Sometime after those incidents, Richards, in the company of fellow Strike Force operatives, walked to the eastern end of Old Road where he saw Jevon ‘Herbie’ Woodley, whom he said was motioning so as to remove a weapon from his waist.
At that point, Richards shot Woodley once and, as he tried to flee, the soldier shot him two more times.
Under oath, Richards told the court that Searles and Woodley were two of the three persons he saw shooting at him during the first phase of the incident.
He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
Richards' appeal is expected to be heard at the next sitting of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal in March 2013.
