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High drama

by Emmanuel Joseph
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The murder case against 38-year old Pedro Ellis was adjourned today until Wednesday amidst high drama in the No. 3 Supreme Court after the 12-member jury found him not guilty.

In fact, the jury could not even reach a verdict on the lesser charge of manslaughter making way for presiding judge Carlisle Greaves to remand Ellis until Wednesday when bail would be considered and to give the prosecutor time to consult with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The day’s hearing was punctuated by heated exchanges between defence counsel Larry Smith, QC and Justice Greaves. Smith had earlier challenged the judge’s summation and jury directions.

The exchanges reached the point where Justice Greaves warned Smith he was not afraid to find him in contempt and send him to prison.

“I am not a frightened judge,” he told the senior lawyer.

“And I am not a frightened lawyer,” Smith hit back.

Following the return of the not guilty verdict on the murder charge, Justice Greaves instructed the jury to retire again and return a unanimous or majority verdict on the lesser count of manslaughter. The jurors were recalled by the judge after more than five hours of back-and-forth. At 4:57 p.m. they reported that the nine women and three men were deadlocked on the manslaughter and were not able to even muster the nine members needed for a majority verdict.

Justice Carlisle Greaves and Larry Smith, QC

At this point Justice Greaves asked them if there was anything in law he could further assist them on, in helping to reach a verdict on the lesser count.

The foreman of the jury told him “no sir”.

Justice Greaves then discharged them and thanked them for their service.

He informed the court he would make a ruling on the way forward on Wednesday.

It was then that he asked the attorneys representing Ellis and the prosecution to make any submissions they saw fit.

Smith immediately applied for bail on the grounds that his client had been in prison for six years and had now been acquitted of murder.

Smith also argued that his peers on the jury also could not agree that he was guilty of manslaughter.

Ellis was accused of murdering Antonio Harewood on May 5, 2013 during a stabbing and stoning incident in which testimony before the court suggested he was defending his son after a beating by the deceased.

His attorney also contended that in light of the hung jury and two years of indictments by the Crown, it would serve no useful purpose to continue the trial. In fact, Smith submitted that the jury’s position has rendered the Crown’s case flimsy and weak.

He said his client is not a flight risk, noting that he had cooperated with the police, was described as a ‘good man’ and was an orderly in prison.

Smith told the judge that Ellis should not be punished any further by remanding him to prison, especially since he is still innocent until proven guilty.

The Queen’s Counsel appealed to the court to apply the “minimumest” bail conditions and have his client report to a police station several times a week.

However, in a surprise move, Crown Counsel Oliver Thomas rose to his feet and urged the court not to retry the accused in light of the length of time he has already spent on remand.

“We don’t see any justice in retrying this matter,” Thomas declared to the judge’s surprise.

“Have you made this decision on your own without the DPP?” Justice Greaves asked.

The judge insisted that the DPP should be consulted and allowed to give consideration to the matter, which Greaves contended is a serious one.

When asked to comment on the question of bail, the prosecutor suggested $150,000 bail should be granted to Ellis.

But what the judge did next would result in the most dramatic scene of an already eventful day in the Number 3 Supreme Court.

He ruled that Ellis should be remanded until Wednesday when he will consider bail and would also give the Crown time to consult with the DPP.

Immediately, a loud scream exploded inside the courtroom and continued outside after the family member, who is thought to be Ellis’ mother, stormed out of the court in tears.

That crying continued all the way outside of the room and even after the court ended, the female relative was seen holding her bowed head and heard bawling as she sat in the waiting area.

“This is hard, this is hard,” she exclaimed as defence attorney Smith sought to console her.

Minutes earlier as the judge was about to exit the courtroom to his chambers, he and Smith had yet another verbal exchange.

Smith was not impressed by the judge’s decision to ask the prosecutor to consult with the DPP on how to proceed with the trial.

“You accusing me of taking sides?” he asked the defense attorney.

“No sir,” he replied.

“You want to go up [to prison] today?”

“No sir,” Smith said.

During the trial, Orlando Ellis, the son of the murder accused testified that his father did not have a knife when he ran to him for assistance after being beaten up.

However, he said when his father later got into a struggle with the now deceased Harewood in a track, he saw Harewood with a knife in his hand making stabbing motions at his dad.

The younger Ellis had testified that he sought his father’s assistance after Harewood had slammed him into the ground. emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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