Convicted murderer loses second appeal

WENSECLAUS JAMES, who initially lost his murder appeals but later succeeded in petitioning  the President to refer his conviction to the Court of Appeal on the ground of fresh evidence, had his appeal dismissed again yesterday and his conviction and sentence affirmed.

James, together with Anthony Briggs, was convicted and sentenced to death in June 1996 for the August 1992 murder of Siewdath Ramkissoon, a Caroni worker and part time “PH” driver. They had beaten Ramkissoon to death with a hammer.  However, four years later, in February 2000,  a prisoner called Christopher Lall swore to an affidavit that it was not James who killed Ramkissoon, but Briggs. He claimed he was present when the killing took place and James was not there. Although he had initially been interviewed by attorney Gaitree Paragass  in March 1999 and given an unsigned statement, he only swore to the affidavit after Briggs was hanged by the State in July of that year.

In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal led by Chief Justice Sat Sharma said: “Christopher Lall did not make a favourable impression upon us. We have carefully considered his affidavit and his oral testimony. His oral testimony contradicted and departed from the evidence on affidavit in very important areas. There were several unsatisfactory features about his evidence and I do not think that any reliance can be placed on his evidence that he was present when Siewdath Ramkissoon was killed.

“We are of the opinion that he has come forward at this stage for reasons best known to himself.  We are of the opinion that the swearing to the affidavit by Lall after the execution of Briggs was no mere coincidence. It is quite clear and we are satisfied that he timed his coming forward to give this account to a period after the execution of Anthony Briggs. “It must be remembered that Ms Paragass had been to see him as early as March 1999 and he made it clear to her on that visit that he was not signing any statement. However, on her second visit in September 1999, he was ready and willing to swear to the affidavit. By that tome, of course, Briggs had been executed. “We have no doubt about the falsity of Lall’s evidence and we see no ground for concluding that in light of the new evidence the jury might reasonably have doubted the correctness of the verdict. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed and the conviction and sentence affirmed.” The appeal, which was heard before the CJ, Justice Margot Warner and Justice Stanley John, was argued by attorneys Desmond Allum SC and Rajiv Persad, while Deputy DPP Carla Brown Antoine represented the State.

Apart from the fresh evidence ground, counsel for James also argued that the trial judge erred when he directed the jury on the doctrine of joint enterprise and felony/murder rule. The court in its 24-page judgment, said such a direction was clearly an error of law. However, as Lord Mustill, of the Privy Council observed in another case, the fact that a direction given in accordance with the felony/murder rule must now be held to have been a misdirection need not inevitably lead to the quashing of the conviction.  “A careful analysis of the evidence may show that there was no miscarriage of justice , or at least that a verdict of manslaughter may properly be substituted...” James benefited from the Privy Council ruling in  Pratt and Morgan, and his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.