By Ronalda Luke
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Sherma Dalrymple says the State will appeal a “no case submission” upheld by High Court Judge, Justice Colin Williams, in the murder trial of Curt Charles, effectively bringing the proceedings to a close and resulting in Charles’ release from custody. The decision was rendered this morning.
Charles had been indicted for the murder of 52-year-old Eddy James, also known as “Wadada,” in an incident that allegedly occurred in the Silver Lake community on October 20, 2017. He pleaded not guilty to the charge and had been on trial for the past week.
The State had a witness who gave evidence and who recounted that she saw the accused firing shots, and thereafter she ran to the deceased, whom she met groaning on the ground. Justice Collin Williams described this witness’s evidence as “untruthful, tenuous, vague, and weak.”
The State further argued that “the truthfulness of the testimony had to remain in the province of the jury, and that was for the jury to decide what weight would be given in the matter”.
Given the state of affairs and the decision of the Judge to uphold the “no case submission” put forward by the defense team, the Director of Public Prosecutions believes that “it is in the public’s interest that the Court of Appeal decides on this matter, especially with the increase of firearms-related murders in Dominica”.
“Witnesses can’t come forward to give evidence, and the jury is not allowed to decide the credibility, reliability, and truthfulness of that witness,” the DPP stated.