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Judge misdirected jury on how to handle vital evidence —lawyer argues
It is the contention of Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd that Justice Navindra Singh misdirected the jury on how to deal with evidence attributed to that of blood in the trial of Clive
CONVICTED OF MURDER: Clive Knights
Knights.
Knights was convicted and sentenced to 57 years’ imprisonment for the murder of Guyana and Trinidad Mutual Life (GTM) Insurance executive.
Yesterday, Todd commenced arguments on behalf of Knights who has appealed the conviction and sentence against him.
In June 2015, a 12-member mixed jury returned a unanimous verdict for the offence.
On May 12, 2014, Knights murdered Bert Whyte, 44, a former resident of Lot 79, Phoenix Park, West Bank Demerara, and Assistant Company Secretary at GTM.
According to the State Prosecutor then, on May 14, 2012, Whyte dropped his niece, Rayshawn, off at school before leaving for work. Later that evening, Whyte’s brother received a telephone call from a friend. As a result, he went to the Accident and Emergency, (A&E) Department of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC) where he found Whyte lying motionless on the bed.
He was dead with two puncture wounds to his chest and apparent blood stains on his clothing. Forensic Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh confirmed that Whyte had died from haemorrhage and shock due to the perforation of the heart and lungs as a result of the stab wounds he sustained.
According to Todd, Justice Singh, during the summing up, misdirected the jurors on how to deal with the evidence presented by Assistant Superintendent of Police, David, who testified to visiting the crime scene at Palm Court, Main Street, Georgetown where he observed two spots of what appeared to be blood on the ground.
Todd submitted that Justice Singh failed to put to the jury that the police witness said that he saw “what appeared to be blood.” Instead, Todd said that the trial judge told the jurors that ASP David said he saw blood, when there was no forensic evidence to support that conclusion.
Citing a case from the Privy Council, Todd stated that no forensic scientist testified on behalf of the prosecution to state whether the substance found at the crime scene was indeed blood, whether it was human blood and if it belonged to the deceased or some other person.
The lawyer is also arguing that the sentence imposed by Justice Singh is severe. He is expected to expound on this ground when the appeal comes up for hearing again on February 5. Senior State Counsel Stacy Goodings is appearing for the prosecution.
During the trial before Justice Singh, a caution statement was admitted into evidence. Knights’s statement was read aloud to the court by Detective Constable, Kester Cosbert. In the document, Knights said that he met Whyte while they were both employed at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
According to the statement, Whyte had revealed to him that he was a homosexual and expressed a desire to be in a relationship with him. However, Knights declined the offer but decided to remain friends with the victim, since he believed that his way of life had nothing to do with him.
The statement outlined that some time later, both men left their job at the hospital but they continued to hang out. The convict in his statement related that on the day of the incident, he went to a Main Street bar with Whyte and they had a few beers.
In the statement, Knights said that he was tired, intoxicated and must have fallen asleep. According to the statement, the convict said that he remembered going to Whyte’s car but he came to by himself, after he felt someone’s finger at his anus. Knights said that he opened his eyes and found Whyte’s head between his legs; he was performing oral sex on him.
The convict, according to the statement, said that he had an ice pick, which he said he used to stab Whyte before driving away with his car. He had, however, reportedly related to investigators that he was sorry for what happened since Whyte was his friend.
Knights was arrested at a roadblock along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. At the road block, it is reported that the convict gave his name as Troy David.
Initially, Knights’s sentence stood at 60 years. However, the judge deducted three years for the time he spent in pretrial custody.
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