Apr 17, 2010
Six Years In Jail & Still No Trial For Accused Murderer
26 year old Lance Mathias of Spanish Town in St. Catherine, who has been in custody for almost six years awaiting trial on a murder charge, refused to be silenced when he appeared in the Home Circuit Court in Spanish Town yesterday.
Mathias, who is charged jointly with Joel Brown for the murder of Andrew Gordon, who was shot dead on July 9, 2004, demanded to know the status of his case when it was brought up for mention. He was however remanded in custody, to return to court on May 2 when the case will be mentioned once again.
Significantly, the sole eyewitness in the case has never appeared in court. The police reported that the witness could not be located, and thus, the Crown intends to proceed under the Evidence Act to have the statement of the eyewitness tendered into evidence at the trial.
The presiding judge, Supreme Court judge Marva McDonald-Bishop, ordered the prosecution to take steps to ensure that the defence gets all the relevant documents and statements so that an early trial date could be set.