A former Police Constable who was convicted nine years ago for the murder of his children’s mother, has been freed by the United Kingdom based Privy Council, which is Jamaica’s final appellate court.
A Home Circuit Court jury had convicted Lescene Edwards of the murder of 23-year-old Aldonna Harris-Vasquez who was the mother of his two children.
The body of Harris-Vasquez was found at her home in Pembroke Hall, St. Andrew in September 2003 and a suicide note was found beside the body.
She was fatally shot four weeks after she got married to a man who lived abroad.
Edwards and Harris-Vasquez was involved in a relationship for four years before she got married.
The relationship reportedly continued after Harris-Vasquez got married.
Edwards who was at the house at the time of the incident was arrested and charged with murder.
It was alleged at the trial that Edwards shot Harris-Vasquez and wrote the suicide note.
Edwards’ defence was that he was asleep in the room when he heard an explosion and saw Harris-Vasquez with the firearm in her lap.
Edwards had to wait for ten years before his case was tried.
Edwards who is now 53 was sentenced in November 2013 to life in prison and ordered to serve 35 years before he would be eligible for parole.
The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal in 2019 and ordered that he instead serve 20 years before parole.
The Privy Council in its ruling today (April 4), recommended that the Jamaican authorities compensate Edwards for the long delay in having his case tried.
The Privy Council found that Edwards’ constitutional right to trial within a reasonable time was breached.
The council also found that there was no challenge to Queen’s Counsel Valerie Neita Robertson’s statement that “independent forensic experts whether on ballistics, gunshot residue, blood spatter or handwriting are not available in Jamaica.
There was no legal aid available to Edwards to have experts flown in to Jamaica at public expense.
The Privy Council pointed out that it was only because of the English lawyers representing Edwards pro bono that he was able to cite fresh evidence at his appeal hearing.
Meantime, one of the Attorneys representing former policeman Lescene Edwards says compensation will be sought for him.
The Privy Council in its ruling today recommended that the Jamaican authorities compensate Edwards for two possible breaches of his rights.
Attorney at Law, Valerie Neita Robertson told Irie Fm News that damages will be sought for at least one of the breaches -which is the long delay in having her client’s case tried.