Man released after four years in lock-up
Published:Friday | November 19, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
A man who was accused of being involved in a mob killing spent four years in custody and faced four trials before he was freed.
Clifford Treasure, 24, mason of Top Hill, near Falmouth, Trelawny, gained his freedom after a Home Circuit Court jury returned a majority verdict last week that he was not guilty of the murder of Donovan Harris of Race Course, Trelawny.
It was reported that Harris was accused by residents of being the person who killed a baby. Harris left the area for a while, but eventually returned. News spread that Harris was back in the area and in May 2005 while he was in a barber shop at Race Course, an angry mob attacked him.
Harris was beaten to death and Treasure was charged jointly with two other men for the murder.
The first trial took place at the Trelawny Circuit Court but had to be aborted because a member of the jury knew someone connected with the case.
A second trial took place at the Home Circuit Court, but the jury could not arrive at a verdict and a retrial was ordered. Two men were convicted at the third trial but the jury could not arrive at a verdict in respect of Treasure and a retrial was ordered.
Treasure, who was represented by attorney-at-law H. Charles Johnson, faced a fourth trial last week. The jury returned a majority verdict that he was not guilty of the charge.
Too many contradictions
Johnson, in his address to the jury, said Treasure should not be convicted because there were too many contradictions and discrepancies in the Crown's case.
Two relatives of the deceased had given statements to the police that Treasure was one of the men who beat Harris to death, but it later turned out that one of them did not witness the incident.
One of them testified that she did not tell the police about Treasure because she was in shock and disbelief at what had happened.
She said it was only when she attended an identification parade in relation to the case that she mentioned Treasure's name to the police. She said Treasure's back was towards her and she saw him thumping and stomping Harris.
Johnson, in cross-examining the investigating officer, asked which of the two statements he relied on to arrest Treasure.
The prosecutor objected to the question on the grounds that the policeman could not speak on a statement that was not in evidence.
Johnson cited authorities to show that the question was relevant. Justice Kay Beckford allowed the question and the policeman said he relied on the statement of the witness who it later turned out was not present at the scene.
Treasure said in his defence that he was not involved in the incident. He said he was at home that day, working on his mother's house.