BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal is expected to make its next stop in St. Kitts and would be listening to a number of criminal and civil appeals.
The stop would be made next week (June 10-14) as the May 2013 Criminal Assizes at the Basseterre High Court would pause to accommodate.
A short list of criminal cases are expected to be heard, some of which are against sentence and others against conviction.
Among the list of appeals is that of Newrish Nital who is appealing his conviction.
Nital, the once popular Mathematics teacher, chemist and host of the ZIZ television programme ‘Ask Nital’, was convicted of three counts of fraud by a 12-member jury on June 15, 2011 for the April 1, 2 and 4, 2008 incidents and sentenced to three years imprisonment on July 21.
He was released on bail on March 12 pending his appeal.
He is said to have presented several United States Postal Service International Postal Money Orders to a cashier at the Basseterre Post Office with intent to defraud.
He obtained EC$3 710, EC$1 855 and EC$3 710 on April 1, 2 and 4, respectively, from the cashier by presenting the money orders that later turned out to be fraudulent.
The three money orders totalled EC$9 275.
Nital was also said to have had five US$700 money orders and had taken them to the postal office on the said dates.
Had he not appealed his case and been bailed, Nital would have completed his three-year sentence at Her Majesty's Prison in July of this year.
SKNVibes understands that if he loses his appeal he would have to return to prison and serve the remaining time.
Also listed to be heard is the case of Louis Richards who is appealing his conviction of the manslaughter of Clyde Williams, which occurred on August 3, 2007.
Richards appeared before the Court of Appeal on March 12, 2013 to have his matter heard, but said that he was unsuccessful in gaining legal representation for his appeal against conviction and requested the matter be traversed to the next sitting.
This was granted by the Justices of Appeal headed by President Baptiste.
The former soldier had appeared before the Appeal Court in November last year and, after attempting to represent himself and failing, Acting Director of Public Prosecution Rhonda Nisbett-Browne had risen to request the adjournment of the appeal to allow him time to seek an attorney to do such.
His grounds for appeal at that time 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 was charged with one count of murder and two counts of wounding with intent. He was however exonerated of the murder charge but found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to serve 12 years at Her Majesty’s Prison.
On October 21, 2009, a 12-member jury had convicted him of wounding Addren ‘Ado’ Searles and Jevon Woodley with intent to cause them grievous bodily harm and he was sentenced to a further 12-year prison term on December 1, 2009.
Also scheduled to be heard are two rape and one robbery cases.
