GRAY... stabbed to death in 2017
January 24, 2024
Judge suggests cops did not follow proper guidelines
GRAY… stabbed to death in 2017
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Supreme Court judge Justice Bertram Morrison has suggested that proper guidelines were not followed when the police allowed the man accused of killing 15-year-old Shineka Gray in 2017, Gregory Roberts, to give a caution statement without the presence of a lawyer or a justice of the peace (JP).
Justice Morrison made the statement during his summation of the trial against Roberts in the St James Circuit Court on Tuesday.
“You will find now that the procedure under the judges’ rule was not followed at all because if he is going to be asked questions, his lawyer should be there. And, if he can’t find the lawyer, he should at least have a [JP],” stated Justice Morrison.
The Judges’ Rules are a set of administrative guidelines made in England and adopted by the Caribbean. It outlines the procedures to be followed when the police conduct questioning and the acceptability of the statements and confessions as evidence in court.
On December 7, Senior Superintendent (SSP) Wayne Josephs, who was the crime officer for St James in 2017, told the court that on February 6, 2017, he and two other detectives visited the Barnett Street police station where they were introduced to Roberts.
SSP Josephs said he asked Roberts if he had an attorney to which Roberts replied, “Yes.” He told the court that the reason for asking was that the police wanted to conduct a question-and-answer session.
Contact was made with attorney Chumu Paris who said he knew Roberts from representing him in a previous matter. However, he said he was not retained in the matter which had him at the police station that day. Paris later told SSP Josephs that he spoke to the family but was not retained.
SSP Josephs and his team again visited the Barnett Street police station where Roberts was told what the lawyer had said. One of the detectives then asked if Roberts wanted a JP, and he declined the offer. Another detective then asked Roberts if he was able to read and write and he replied in the affirmative. SSP Josephs said the question was asked because the police wanted to serve Roberts with a copy of his co-accused Mario Morrison’s caution statement taken on February 2.
Morrison pleaded guilty in September 2022 after entering a plea deal with the State; he was sentenced to life in prison a month later.
However, Justice Morrison in his directives to the jury on Tuesday said the question of whether Roberts was treated right or reasonably is something they should look into.
“Ask yourselves whether or not they were being fair to this person in relation to a caution statement in the absence of his lawyer and a justice of the peace. That is a question you need to ask yourselves,” said Justice Morrison.
He will continue his summation on Wednesday when he is expected to start looking at the defence witnesses.
Gray, a grade 10 student, was found dead three days after she had been reported missing. She was last seen alive in Montego Bay while on her way home from the funeral of a schoolmate.
Roberts and his co-accused, Mario Morrison, were later taken in custody in connection with the killing.
