SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — The prosecution in the Mario Deane trial has urged jurors not to be distracted by trivialities that may have arisen during the trial of three cops charged in connection with Deane’s death while he was in police custody. The comment came Tuesday as the Crown wrapped up closing arguments.

“I ask you, Mr Foreman and members, not to be sidetracked by any fluff that was done during cross-examination, but to look at the cross-examination and to see whether the questions that were asked were significant,” the prosecutor told the seven-member jury.

“I ask you to arm yourself with the evidence that you have heard when you go into the jury room. Arm yourself with the observations you have made of the witnesses. Arm yourself with your everyday mark of appreciation for how you treat your neighbours, friends, children when they are telling you something and we want to know if it is true or not: Dissect what they are saying to us [by] tearing it apart,” the prosecutor encouraged. “Does the evidence that has been provided by the Crown allow you to return a verdict which is true from the evidence?”

The prosecution’s presentation in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on Tuesday was a continuation of Monday’s review of the case.

The three accused are Corporal Elaine Stewart along with district constables Marlon Grant and Juliana Clevon. They are all charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office.

The allegations in the case are that Deane was arrested for possession of a ganja spliff and placed in custody, where he was brutally beaten on August 3, 2014. He sustained severe injuries to his brain, which left him in a coma. He died three days later at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.

It is alleged that the three cops were on duty at the police station when Deane was beaten. It is further alleged that Stewart, who has an additional charge of perverting the course of justice, instructed that the cell in which the attack took place be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.

During the prosecution’s two days of case summation, the importance of duty of care was emphasised.

“What was the duty of the officers at the cell to Mario Deane when they placed him in cell four with those four persons…? When Ms Stewart summoned Reid [a prisoner in the cell] to clean it, she was perverting the course of justice. When they neglected their duties, they wilfully misconducted themselves,” stated the Crown.

The other three men who were in the cell on the day in question are Adrian Morgan, Marvin Orr, and Damion Cargill. In a previous trial in connection with the fatal beating meted out to Deane, Morgan and Orr pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to time served in custody. Cargill, who is deaf and mute, was deemed unfit to plead.

“So, Mr Foreman and members, as you go to the jury room, arm yourselves with all the information. Look at it and make your decision,” the prosecutor encouraged Tuesday.

With the Crown ending its summation shortly before 3:30 pm, the defence attorney for two of the accused, Martyn Thomas, asked Supreme Court Judge Justice Courtney Daye to allow him to start his submission to the jury Wednesday, May 14, at 9:00 am. His request was granted.