BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHILE it accepted arguments for Lumumba Matthew and Justin Bass against the death sentence handed down to them by the lower court, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) of Appeal has rejected their arguments against conviction.
Yesterday, at the local sitting of the Court of Appeal held at the Sir Lee Llewellyn Moore Judicial and Legal Services Complex, Basseterre, the appellants’ respective lawyers, Chesley Hamilton and Dr. Henry Browne, presented their arguments before Justices of Appeal the Honourable Janice George-Creque and the Honourable Michael Gordon QC and Justice of Appeal (Ag), the Honourable Davidson Baptiste.
Hamilton’s main argument was that the sole eye witness in the case said he saw his attacker [whom he identified as Matthew] but for a few seconds which constitutes a mere “fleeting glance”. On this premise, Hamilton argued that the trial judge ought to have exercised his discretion and not commit the case to the jury for its deliberation.
Henry’s forwarded argument was that there is absolutely no evidence which indicates that his client [Bass] did any shooting on the day in question or did anything to cause the death of Darren Berry.
Henry said, according to Dion Berry’s testimony, he saw Bass some 20 feet away from the scene of the incident running from the left side of the road over to the right side where the other appellant was. His contention was that this effectively places his client away from the scene rather than at it.
Earlier today, the two stood before the Lords and Lady as their judgment was read. The Justices found that, on the issue of identification relative to Matthew, the trial judge did give proper direction to the jury and rejected Dr. Browne’s submission that Bass, by virtue of the distance from the incident, was not involved.
The Justices also found that the proper sentencing procedure was not followed, in that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) failed to advise that she was seeking the death penalty and the grounds under which she would be doing so. Thus, the death penalty imposed at the Basseterre High Court of Justice was set aside and they were sentenced to serve life imprisonment.
In July last year, a jury unanimously convicted Matthew and Bass of the murder of Darren Berry of Keys Village and the attempted murder of his older brother Dion Berry of the same address.
According to evidence presented in that case, the brothers were travelling in the Bayfords area (from St. Peters to Cayon) when two gunmen, one of the left side of the road and the other on the right side, emerged and opened fire. While Dion survived the ordeal, Darren’s 18-year-life abruptly ended. Dion’s testimony pointed to Matthew as his shooter and also placed Bass on the scene.
