Judge chides JDF for limited assistance in Keith Clarke case

By Racquel Porter    

 

The judge who presided over the trial into the killing of accountant Keith Clarke said he found it remarkable that the Jamaica Defence Force was unable to identify the soldiers who entered the room at the time Mr. Clarke was shot.

 

Justice Dale Palmer made the comments before instructing jurors to enter a formal verdict of not guilty, setting the three previously accused soldiers free.

 

The judge's instruction was based on a defence application on Monday asking the court to rule that the men have no case to answer.

 

Lance corporals Greg Tinglin, Odel Buckley, and Private Arnold Henry had been on trial since May. Their case had been before the court for more than a decade.

 

In his ruling minutes after 10 o'clock Thursday morning, Justice Palmer drew attention to the testimonies of two senior JDF officials.

 

Justice Palmer said it was remarkable that two of the most senior officials of an organisation that employs several processes to ensure accountability could not assist in determining the identity of those who entered the room or fired a weapon. Justice Palmer further complained that the ability of the JDF to assist the court continued to deteriorate as a lieutenant colonel could not recall if a signature affixed to two letters was his.

 

The judge said the evidence on identification was woefully below standard.

 

Addressing the panel of jurors, comprising three men and four women, Justice Palmer explained that the evidence as it relates to identification is below the standard for him to call upon the defence to answer.

 

The judge explained further that bits of the evidence had fallen short of the legal standard before asking them to enter the formal verdict of not guilty.

 

Keith Clarke's widow and daughter declined to comment after the ruling.

 

The 64-year-old accountant, was shot multiple times inside the master bedroom of his Kirkland Close home on May 27, 2010, during a police-military operation to apprehend then fugitive drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.

 

Mr. Clarke sustained 25 gunshot wounds, 16 of which were to his lower back. His other injuries included gunshot wounds to his face, chest, and forearm. 

 

 

Meanwhile, defence attorney Linton Gordon, who represented Private Arnold Henry, said Justice Palmer had no other choice but to comply with legal rules governing evidence. 

 

"The ruling of the judge that there is no case to answer is grounded primarily in the issue of identification. Despite all the evidence called and the documents including forensic reports that were brought to bear, they could not reach the standard where the judge could say there's sufficient evidence that the jury should assess and determine if the men are properly identified as the ones who were in the room firing, and therefore responsible," the attorney reasoned. 

 

Mr. Gordon said the soldiers are relieved as they, too, suffered in the more than decade-long ordeal. 

 

"Although they were not in custody, there were conditions that restricted their movement including travelling abroad. One of them, for example, his spouse and his child are abroad because of what is required for them to continue their lives, and he has not been able to visit them nor to join them," he pointed out.