Jury delivers ‘not guilty’ verdict and draws the ire of the judge

Justice Herbert Volney, the trial judge told the jury “in all of my 16 years on the Bench, I have never seen a case where the evidence is so clear, and you 12 persons have returned a verdict so perverse and contrary to the evidence.

“I will therefore direct the Registrar to have each of your names be struck off the roll of jurors for the next 15 years. You are relieved,” Volney added.

The jaws of the panel of jurors dropped, as they received the scolding of the judge.

Sudeen’s mother Juliet Lall busrt into tears.

Sudeen, aka “Sunil” was shot and killed at the front of his home on the evening of September 1, 2005. Sudeen lived at Greenidge Street, Sangre Grande with his mother, and father Ashok Lall. He was an only child.

Sudeen’s mother testified that, Flemming and Mohammed came to her home with guns on the night in question. Lall also claimed that the two shot her son while he stood talking with a friend. However, when she was cross-examined by defence attorneys Ulric Skerritt and Michelle Solomon, the elderly woman admitted that she had made mistakes.

In their addresses to the jury last Wednesday and Thursday, Skerrit and Solomon said, their clients went to Sudeen’s house to speak to his parents, and to clear their name. The defence convinced the jury that the Lalls lost their son and wanted someone to pay. The attorneys pointed out that Lall wore glasses, and was not able to see from her hammock to the road.