The Court of Appeal on Monday ordered the release of two of three men who were convicted 13 years ago for a murder committed in August Town, St. Andrew.
The Court also declined to order a retrial of the men, arguing that they would be severely prejudiced as approximately 20 years would have passed since the crime was committed.
Omar Dunkley and Jason Coley were convicted by a jury in April 2011 for the murder of Michael Curtis, otherwise called 'Java', on July 20, 2004 and were each sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment.
In its judgment, the Appeal Court highlighted the fact that, to date, the men had served about 13 years of their sentence and the possibility of a retrial in the near future was hardly likely.
The attorneys for the men, Robert Fletcher and Anthony Williams, had argued that their clients should have been freed on a no-case submission because of contradictions and material inconsistencies in the evidence of the main witness at the trial.
The third convict, Omar Blake, lost his appeal against his conviction but the court reduced his sentence of 25 years before parole to 16 years.
Prosecutors had reported that the deceased was fatally shot at his girlfriend's house in August Town and that Blake was the chief instigator.
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