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RESOLUTION Nš 25/81 CASE
3102 JAMAICA June
25, 1981
BACKGROUND:
1. In the morning
of March 14, 1974, in the Parish of Saint Andrew, Leo Horatio Henry was
assaulted by two individuals and murdered while leaving his car parked
on Slip Road in Kingston. About March 27, 1974, two men were arrested in
connection with this crime. 2. By letter dated
May 29, 1978, Mr. Noel Riley, a Jamaican citizen acting on his own
behalf, complained to the Commission that he had been arrested together
with Anthony Forbes and charged of the murder of Leo Horatio Henry, a
crime he says he has not committed, tried, innocently convicted and
sentenced to death on March 7, 1975. The claimant describes his
complaint as follows: We
have not been given a fair trial in the Circuit Court neither was there
evidence that an impartial panel of jury could use as material enough
for bringing about our conviction. There was grossly conflicting
evidence given, but we both fell victims of class prejudice tempered
with the anger of an outraged brotherhood at the top of the
socio-economic strata. 3. By letter of
October 2, 2978, the Commission, in accordance with Articles 38, 39 and
54 of the Regulations then in force, requested that the complainant
supply additional information to satisfy the requirements of the
Regulations. 4. On January 24,
1979, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights sent to the
Government of Jamaica the following note: The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has received numerous
communications regarding alleged violations of rights of certain
individuals accused of murder who have been tried, convicted and
sentenced to death by the tribunals of your country. These individuals
are at present in the death row of St. Catherine District Prison
awaiting the execution of the death penalty imposed upon them. The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights requested that the plaintiffs
furnish some specific and pertinent information to verify not only the
legal foundation and justification of their complaints, but also whether
the Internal legal procedures and remedies of the country have been duly
applied and exhausted. Because
of the prevailing circumstances, the plaintiffs have not been able to
supply the information requested from them, but they have submitted to
the Commission the names of persons and institutions that could provide
such information. The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, aware of the possible
difficulties that the complainants may encounter to satisfy the
requirements of the Regulations, wishes to request the Honorable
Government of Your Excellency to supply copies of the notes of evidence
of the trial court as well as those of the appeal court if such
procedure took place in the cases of Noel Riley and Anthony Forbes, and
any other information which would enable the Commission to determine
whether the internal legal procedures and remedies have been exhausted
in these cases. This
request for information does not constitute a decision as to the
admissibility of the communication. 5. By a note of
August 30, 1979, the Government of Jamaica replied to the Commission's
request and submitted a transcript of the notes of evidence of the
Circuit Court trial of Noel Riley and Anthony Forbes, as well as a copy
of the judgement handed down by the Court of Appeal in respect to the
application for leave to appeal against the conviction and sentence of
the plaintiff Noel Riley. The Commission informed the plaintiff of this
submission by letter of September 26, 1979. WHEREAS:
1. A study of the
notes of evidence of the Jamaican Court and the conduct of the trial of
Noel Riley show that the rules of criminal procedures of Jamaica were
observed and that the claimant received a fair trial; 2. Noel Riley had
the service of a defense counsel of two attorneys; 3. Noel Riley
informed the Commission the he lost his appeal and therefore the
internal legal remedies in this case have been exhausted; THE
INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, RESOLVES:
1. To declare that
there exists no evidence of the violation of any of the rigths set forth
in the American Convention on Human Rights in this case. 2. To communicate
this resolution to the Government of Jamaica and to the claimant. 3. To recommend
that the Government of Jamaica suspend the execution of those persons
sentenced to death and consider the abolition of the death penalty.
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