Former murder accused slaps State with $100M lawsuit over “wrongful detention”

Jan 31, 2020 News

Claiming that he was wrongfully detained for almost seven years, 32-year-old Cloyde Harris is suing the State for in excess of $100M for breach of his rights guaranteed under Articles 139 and 144 of the Constitution. His lawyer, Dexter Todd says that his client was held on remand for murder for six years, six months and six days without a trial.

From left: Cloyde Harris and his lawyer, Dexter Todd

Harris was on December 25, 2012 arrested for the December 22, 2012 murder of his cousin, 71-year-old Derrick Cox, who was shot and killed by bandits, in front of his shop. Following a Preliminary Inquiry (PI), before Magistrate Alex Moore, Harris was committed to stand trial for the offence at the High Court.
Kaieteur News understands that the case docket and deposition from the PI were not submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and instead were with the Clerk of Court of the East Coast Demerara Magisterial District up until 2016. Some time later, the DPP ordered Magistrate Moore to reopen the PI to, among other things, admit additional evidence.

DEAD: Derrick Cox

The PI got underway in December 2018, and the main witness testified that he did not see Harris at the scene of the murder. As a result, Magistrate Moore discharged Harris due to insufficient evidence; he was released from prison.
In a Statement of Claim filed at the High Court in Georgetown, Harris is asking the court to award him in excess of $100M in damages for his unlawful detention, loss of liberty and for delay of trial within a reasonable time.
Against this backdrop, the former murder accused is asking for a declaration that his unlawful arrest and or detention for almost seven years without a reasonable trial was unreasonable and in contravention of Articles 139 and 144 of the Constitution. Harris is also asking the court to award him costs and any such order or further orders the court deems just in the circumstances.

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