CHIEF Justice Lensley Wolfe yesterday threatened to jail Jamaicans For Justice’s (JFJ) executive director Carolyn Gomes while continuing his summing up before the 12-member jury of the evidence of defence and prosecution witnesses during the Crawle murder trial.

Gomes, a strident human rights activist, who has followed the seven-week case in which three policemen are on trial for the 2003 murders of four civilians in Crawle, Clarendon, and who has taken copious notes of the proceedings, in an apparent displeasure of the Chief Justice’s summation to the jury, shrugged her shoulders in disapproval and shook her head repeatedly.

Wolfe, who had been speaking softly while directing the 12-member jury on the testimony of prosecution witness Adrian Feron, and the statement of deceased alleged police informer Sopheleta Clayton, suddenly shouted in a loud voice, which could be heard downstairs the No 1 Home Circuit Court, downtown Kingston.

Said the chief justice: “No one is going to give any dissent when I direct the jury, and Mrs Gomes, I will lock you up, I fear no one but God.

“You are shrugging and it is obvious that you disagree with what I am saying. Behave yourself. Don’t fool with me. You are no greater defender of justice than I am. I dare anyone to challenge my direction….. I dare anyone that I have acted over his trial to say that I have acted unjustly to him,” Wolfe told Gomes.

An obviously frightened Gomes sat motionless and stared steadfastly as she listened to Wolfe’s admonition.

Without flinching, Wolfe told the rights activist that her agenda was not even conspicuous.

“You have a hidden agenda, and I don’t even know if it is hidden.,” Wolfe said. He then paused for a few seconds before apologising to the jury for his outburst.

An adjournment was taken immediately for the jurors to be refreshed.

When the jurors left the room, followed by observers, a silent Gomes remained in her seat. Defence and prosecution lawyers also sat in silence. Following the sitting, she told the Observer that Wolfe’s outburst was unfortunate.

“I was taking notes… Maybe I did make up my face or shook my head,” said Gomes, as she expressed concern about how prosecution witnesses were discredited.

“He (Wolfe) did not show any consistency between statements and spent a lot of time on discrepancies. It was an unfortunate distraction for the jury, and an unfortunate attack on me,” Gomes told the Observer.

Shortly after the jury returned to the courtroom, the chief justice continued his summation.

Reviewing the testimony of the 11 year-old schoolgirl who witnessed the killing of her mother Lowena Thompson, Wolfe told the jury that when dealing with the testimony of a child of tender years, the testimony must be approached with caution. He said it was also desirable that her testimony be corroborated as she was susceptible to being coached by persons who did not witness the event.

“If you conclude she has spoken the truth you can act upon her testimony, even though it has not been corroborated,” the chief justice told the jury.

Defence lawyers had requested the jury to reject the little girl’s testimony as she was confused and was influenced by someone.

But Wolfe said it could not be doubted that the girl had extreme difficulty in remembering the incident, but said that was understandable as she had lost her mother and appeared traumatised and was testifying two years later. He said the evidence of Kemar Miller, Randy Risden and Adrian Feron corroborated that of the girl, because they said the only person who was firing that day was the police, which was what Shanice said.

The judge pointed to discrepancies between the testimonies of Crown witnesses Randy Risden and Kemar Miller. He also questioned the testimony of Constable Tyrone “Dutty Dog” Brown, who in his first of three statements did not say anything about Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams planting a gun at the scene of the killing, but mentioned it in his third statement. He said Tyrone Brown said Detective Corporal Franklin Brown was present when Adams planted a gun in the house but Franklin did not mention it in his statement.

Wolfe said one of the unfortunate things in the case was the number of prosecution witnesses who gave additional statements.

“In all my years on the bench I have never seen a case where witnesses have to give additional statements.. What I am concerned about is that it is in the additional statements they implicate the accused men,” said the judge. He pointed out that prosecution witness Constable Donovan Thompson gave four statements – the first in June 2005, the last in September 2005 and he failed to mention the crucial evidence of what took place in the house at Crawle.

Wolfe mentioned that in his testimony in chief, Thompson said he saw no other policeman in the house, but under cross-examination said that he saw Adams and Constable Roderick Collier in the house.

The two cops on trial with Adam are Corporals Patrick Coke and Shane Lyons.

Wolfe will continue his summing up to the jury on Monday.

– whytetk@jamaicaobsrever.com