<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two overturned convictions handed down by the Supreme Court here freed Nigel and Althea Morgan of their custodial sentences, with immediate effect. Crystal, their daughter, also benefitted from their joint appeal which the Supreme Court entertained on Tuesday. Her four years sentence was reduced to 3 as ordered by the presiding Justices of Appeal Davidson Kelvin Baptiste and Mario Michel as well as Acting Justice of Appeal Paul Anthony Webster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can sue for false imprisonment, you know? We can sue but I never advise people to do it because you went through a trial and that is how the system is, you know? In some countries you can sue and seek for compensation but I will not encourage it \u2026 because they were convicted. That\u2019s why they were in jail, from the conviction and then the appeal take so long to come off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Veteran defense attorney Kay Bacchus-Baptiste was at the time speaking in an exclusive Asbert News Network interview, hours after her successful appeal of the local Supreme Court on Tuesday. The case spanned several years since it first appeared on the official Court roster in April 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back then, Pastor Nigel Morgan along with his wife and daughter Althea and Crystal Morgan were jointly charged that they did \u201cunlawfully and maliciously inflict grievous bodily harm\u201d on Cuthbert \u201cMafia\u201d Victory. Victory suffered, what Crown Counsel Karim Nelson described to the Court on Tuesday as, \u201cfirst degree burns \u2026 extensive in the sense of when you look at the different areas \u2013 the back, talking about the shoulders, talking about the head, face, ears.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two years later, around the anniversary of their arraignment, the Morgan\u2019s were summarily convicted of the charge brought before Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett. Each family member was slapped with a 4 years sentence, which they began serving immediately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The entire affair \u2013 the inciting incident through to the ensuing trial \u2013 was widely consumed by media audiences locally and across the Vincentian Diaspora. Kay Bacchus-Baptiste, I-Witness News reported, \u201cimmediately informed the Kingstown Magistrate\u2019s Court that she would appeal and apply for a stay of execution of the sentence until the appeal is heard\u201d when the Senior Magistrate imposed his sentences. Under the local criminal codes the charge carries a maximum sentence of 7 years incarceration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bacchus-Baptiste cited her clients\u2019 interests as her primary concern even as she was being offered an opportunity for further adjournment at Tuesday\u2019s sitting of the High Court. At the time the 3 member panel presided by Justice of Appeal Davidson Kelvin Baptist showed some concern when Bacchus-Baptiste announced that her presentation may be somewhat retarded since she was only served with the respondents\u2019 submission the previous Friday. This retardation, she was certain, only impacted on her submission insofar as she could not afford the time to respond to their submissions in writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bacchus-Baptiste who is also a Senator for the main Opposition Party here again exclusively told ANN that the Morgan\u2019s appeal was heard in a \u201cprobably reasonable\u201d amount of time \u2013 \u201clook at our [New Democratic Party filed Election] Petitions we are yet to get our appeal before the Court.\u201d She was mindful that \u201cit takes a long time to put the records together. And that\u2019s why even though I was served only on Friday with this [respondents\u2019 submissions] I didn\u2019t want to adjourn it because look what would have happened they would have stayed in jail \u2018til September. So it\u2019s a good thing I went ahead even though I was not fully prepared to take on their arguments but I figured I could have won it on my own submissions. You know, without having to bother too much with theirs and the Court almost didn\u2019t ask them for their submissions any way. Because the Court was just convinced, so they really didn\u2019t have to call on him but they were gracious they allowed him to say what he had to say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which was in essence that the respondents \u201cwere of the view that there was indeed sufficient evidence upon which the learned Magistrate could have made the finding that appellants 1 and 2 aided appellant 3.\u201d Crown Counsel Nelson cited R v Jogee case law in support of his submission that there was \u201cindeed evidence of intentional assistance\u201d \u2013 one of the factors that should be satisfied when attempting to prove that the elder Morgan\u2019s aided and abetted their daughter as she scalded Victory on that fated April 2016 morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to the \u201cbenefit of [an in Court] demonstration by the witness Clint Antoine\u201d Nelson pressed, \u201cthe learned Magistrate could have drawn some inferences\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crown Counsel Nelson read from Court records saying, \u201cthe Court makes a note that the witness demonstrated how the VC was held \u2013 one on both sides \u2013 defendant number 3 poured water like that, VC back turned to both of them. So my Lords the submission that I am making is that the learned Magistrate had the benefit of seeing the witness demonstrate the position that the parties were in when this liquid was poured, this hot liquid was poured, water was poured on the virtual complainant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in her application Bacchus-Baptiste rubbished Senior Magistrate Burnett\u2019s handling of certain elements of the Morgan\u2019s trial. She claimed that the verdict was \u201ctherefore perverse\u201d and that the Magistrate displayed partiality as parts of his notes captioning statements by Clint Antoine, the witness for the prosecution, were emphasized by bold and capitalized words. The defense attorney also contended that Senior Magistrate Burnett did not do a good job recording what she described to be \u201cglaring inconsistences\u201d in the prosecution\u2019s case and as such misrepresented the case put forward by her team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justices agreed with her to some extent as the sum result of her efforts netted the elder Morgan\u2019s their freedom. In passing the judgment Justice of Appeal Mario Michel told the Court, \u201cwe accordingly find that the convictions of appellants number 1 and 2 ought to be set aside. We believe that the convictions of appellant number 3 was fully justified on the evidence and on the findings of fact made by the Magistrate. With respect to appellant number 3 we accept the submission of Counsel for the appellants that the sentence imposed was excessive in all the circumstances and we note that Counsel for the respondents indeed conceded that and suggested that there should be a reduction in the sentence according to Counsel of no less than 3 years. Counsel for the appellant had in turn suggested that the sentence should be 2 and a half years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cConsidering all of the factors, noting the submissions of both parties the Court accepts that the sentence of 4 years was excessive in all the circumstances and considers that the appropriate sentence, all things considered, should be a sentence of 3 years imprisonment. The appeal against conviction and sentence in respect of appellants number 1 and 2 is allowed and the conviction and sentence are set aside. The appeal against conviction and sentence in respect of appellant number 3 is allowed only to the extent that the sentence of 4 years is set aside and replaced by a sentence of 3 years. The finding of guilt of the appellant number 3 is affirmed by this Court. This is the judgment of the Court in this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senator Kay Bacchus-Baptiste also availed herself of the opportunity to respond to critics who claim Tuesday\u2019s successful litigation could turn out to be the Achilles heel of her political aspirations. She is currently campaigning to secure her seat as Member of Parliament for West St. George \u2013 presently held by the Unity Labour Party. This may have prompted one observer to ask \u201chow can she go on an NDP platform in Marriaqua now?\u201d referencing the fact that the Morgan\u2019s were more or less ostracized in their Hopewell, Mesopotamia hometown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To this the celebrated litigator responded, \u201cwhy can\u2019t I go? Are they going to lynch the Court of Appeal? I am a professional. I do my work. I am good at my work. Any one of my detractors who may have a problem or [any of] their close family should have a problem, would not like me to compromise their case for my political success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JP.Schwmon.Vincy@Gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two overturned convictions handed down by the Supreme Court here freed Nigel and Althea Morgan of their custodial sentences, with immediate effect. Crystal, their daughter, also benefitted from their joint appeal which the Supreme Court entertained on Tuesday. Her four years sentence was reduced to 3 as ordered by the presiding Justices of Appeal Davidson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":9388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local-news","category-mainstory"],"yoast_head":"\n