Privy Council overturns former policeman's murder conviction

Almost nine years after Lescene Edwards, a former police constable, was convicted for the murder of his girlfriend, the UK Privy Council has ruled that his conviction be quashed.

 

In the ruling handed down on Monday, the UK law lords agreed that Edwards' constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time was breached by the ten-year delay between his arrest and trial.

 

They also said Edwards' appeal against his conviction should be heard.

 

Edwards was convicted by a jury and sentenced on October 31, 2013, ten years after his girlfriend Aldonna Harris-Vasquez was found with a bullet wound to the head in the bathroom of her Pembroke Hall, St. Andrew home.

 

Edwards was visiting Mrs Harris Vasquez, the mother of his twin girls at the time of the incident on September 5, 2003.

 

A suicide note was found at the scene.

 

Edwards appealed his sentence on the question of whether the ten-year delay between the incident and the trial contravened his rights under the Constitution. 

 

The Court of Appeal dismissed the matter, despite agreeing that the trial delay was lengthy and there had been several instances of failure in the investigation of the case. 

 

Edwards took the case to the UK Privy Council and included fresh evidence which was accepted by the law lords.

 

The fresh evidence included that when the fatal shot was fired, Mrs Harris Vasquez was seated on the bathroom floor with her back against the closed door. 

 

The judges said there is no evidence to the contrary to explain how the defendant could have managed to kill Mrs Harris Vasquez in the confined space of the bathroom, then move the body, open the door and appear a very short time afterwards in the living room without any blood being seen on him or his clothes, and without any bloodstains or bloodied footprints being found anywhere outside the bathroom.

 

Based on the evidence, the judges ruled that the murder conviction cannot be upheld.

 

The UK Privy Council has asked the Jamaican authorities to consider compensating the former police constable for the miscarriage of justice which occurred.