Murder accused files civil suit against State

Mar 04, 2021 News

– claims breach of right to fair hearing

Lennox Wayne called ‘Two Colours.’

Kaieteur News – Citing the length of time he has been behind bars awaiting a criminal trial, murder accused, Lennox Wayne, has filed civil proceedings against the State over what he calls a breach of right to a fair hearing.
Wayne called ‘Two Colours,’ and his co-accused, Melroy Doris, had been incarcerated over the murder of Lusignan cosmetologist, Ashmini Harriram.
Harriram was shot in the neck moments after she disembarked a minibus along the Lusignan Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara, on Thursday, July 10, 2014. Back in 2017, Wayne and his co-accused faced a trial in the High Court but were remanded to prison after the jury failed to meet a verdict for the murder charge, which they faced.
Following the verdict, Trial Judge, Jo Ann Barlow, had informed the accused that the jury could not determine whether they were guilty or not guilty of murder. She explained that the hung jury meant that they “will have to remain in custody and undergo another trial during another session of the Demerara Criminal Assizes.”
Ever since then the duo has been in custody.
As such, Wayne through his attorney, Nigel Hughes, is asking the High Court for several orders, including an order to admit him on bail pending the hearing and determination of his Fixed Date Application (FDA) challenging his incarceration. He also wants a permanent stay of the murder charge and a declaration that his rights, guaranteed by the provisions of Article 144 of the Constitution of Guyana, have been infringed.
According to court documents seen by this newspaper, the murder accused also filed for damages in excess of $100,000 for a breach of his fundamental right to a fair hearing as guaranteed by the provisions of Article 144 of the Constitution of Guyana.
In an affidavit to support his claim, the applicant asks the Court to consider inter alia that he had been incarcerated for the crime since October 2014.
He said that he has been awaiting trial since November 2015, after he committed to stand trial in the High Court by a Magistrate. Since then, Wayne noted that he underwent a trial, which ended in a hung jury in 2017, but ever since, he has not been afforded the opportunity to go before the Court.
The applicant said too that his name was listed for retrial in the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, but his case never came up.
According to Wayne, while he languished in jail, all attempts made by him to expedite his trial had proven futile.
He noted that his concerns over the delay were raised at the level of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), but were not addressed. Wayne listed a number of other avenues, which attempted to get his concerns over the delayed trial addressed, but to no avail.
In the circumstances, the murder accused said that he believes that his rights to a fair trial as guaranteed by the constitution have been impeded. He is hoping that the High Court will address his concerns and grant the reliefs sought.

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