FORMER Junior Energy Minister Kern Spencer and his former personal assistant Colleen Wright shed tears of joy yesterday as they walked out of the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court free after a sixyear trial on corruption and money laundering charges in the Cuban light bulb scandal.

 Spencer, who had responsibility for the implementation of the programme, and Wright, were freed after Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey upheld a no-case submission filed by their attorneys.

 The magistrate, in handing down the ruling, said that based on the evidence presented both accused did not have a case to answer. RM Pusey agreed with the defence that their concerns about prosecutorial misconduct and undue delay were properly raised as the delays could have resulted in the case being permanently stayed.

 Defence attorneys KD Knight and Deborah Martin had earlier argued, in their no-case submissions, that their clients were denied a fair trial because of prosecutorial misconduct and the lengthy delays in the case, noting that the evidence presented was not in accordance with the charges. Following the ruling, Spencer, former member of parliament for North East St Elizabeth, said even though he was overjoyed at the favourable outcome, he was bitter that he had lost six years of his life.

 “I’m extremely elated at the announcement from the judge this morning [but] to be honest I am not surprised. I was always confident of my innocence from the beginning.

 I still feel a bit bitter that at the prime of my life six years were taken away from me at the time when I should be taking care of myself and my family.

 My children and family were totally embarrassed; I have kids who, on several occasions, had to receive counselling,” he said.

 In addition, Spencer said he was really hurt by some of the things that were said about him and were reported in the media as they did not truly reflect the kind of person he is.

 “I am a decent, honest, law-abiding and God-fearing person who would never do several of the things that I was accused of,” he said.

 Wright, however, declined to share her feelings but it was clear from her smile that she was also elated as she stood by Spencer, who disclosed that he was also very hurt by her arrest, as she was one of the most decent human beings that he knew.

 The attorneys also said they were not surprised by the magistrate’s ruling as from the beginning the prosecution did not have a case against their clients.

 “We knew that no reasonable tribunal would consider convicting on the evidence adduced,” said Wright’s lawyer, K D Knight. “When this case started, based on the disclosure, I had begun to develop my no-case submission and I had announced that a no-case submission would be made.” Martin, who represented Spencer, also expressed similar sentiments.

 “From the very outset, based on the material we had, we were of the view that the Crown would not have succeeded. The material that we had were not in keeping with what the public was led to believe in this case and, but for Mr [Rodney] Chin being introduced, there was nothing in what was disclosed to us to have caused us to believe that Mr Spencer would have had a case to answer,” Martin said.

 But while the defence expressed confidence, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn said there was an abundance of evidence against Spencer and Wright which caused the prosecution to have no doubt that there was a case to answer.

 She bemoaned the lack of opportunity for the prosecution to appeal the magistrate’s decision under Jamaican law.

 “It is the learned trial judge to decide on the matter of law.

 The public, through the media, heard quite a bit of the evidence that was placed before the court.

 I will leave the public to judge, but as I’ve said before, the system of justice that we have does not give the prosecution any right of appeal at this level in respect of any issue. So certainly we have no choice and we are obligated to respect the decision of the court,” Llewellyn said.

 Spencer and Wright were arrested in February 2008 on allegations that they formed several dummy companies to funnel millions of dollars out of the project in which four million energy-saving light bulbs were donated by the Cuban Government for free distribution to Jamaicans.

 They were arrested and charged with businessman Rodney Chin, who later turned a witness for the Crown after he inked a deal with the prosecution and the charges against him were dropped.