Privy Council overturns ‘confession’ ruling

interview in which the appellant confessed to the robbery of Ms Donaldson read out at his trial is to be believed,” the Privy Council wrote, “he volunteered a full account of his participation in this offence purely of his own accord without any encouragement and without being confronted with any evidence implicating him in the robbery. The respondent has not suggested any motive for this unusual act of self-sacrifice.”

When he appealed his conviction, Mr Ariste alleged his confession was untrue and forced. He claimed police beat and suffocated him with a bag and water.

“When he was transferred to prison on July 27, 2010,” the Privy Council wrote, “the prison doctor recorded that he had a number of injuries including a temporal abrasion, multiple handcuff abrasions, a skin avulsion on the left wrist, bruising on the buttocks, and a 6cm abrasion or ulcer on his right buttock. The doctor also records that the appellant told him that he had been beaten by the police on his arrest on July 21, 2010.”

The Privy Council noted Mr Ariste had no legal representation at the time of his detention and that he alleged officers beat him and told him he did not need one when he asked for a lawyer.

Mr Ariste had no legal representation during the March 2012 trial before Justice Bernard Turner. Justice Turner determined the man’s confession was admissible but did not give reasons for this conclusion during the trial. Mr Ariste was ultimately sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.

Four police officers, Constable Benson Miller, Constable Kimeo Patrico

Smith, Constable Dion Marcus Ranger and Detective Sergeant Michael Anthony Johnson, had testified that Mr Ariste was not subjected to ill-treatment.

One officer claimed Mr Ariste told him he was bruised to the right side of his face after a rock was thrown at him.

The Privy Council said: “It is a very serious problem that, despite having stated that he would be doing so... Turner J did not provide any reasons for his ruling on the voir dire to admit the confession evidence.

“There are three matters in particular that should have been obvious to the trial judge at the time of the voir dire and that should have been troubling him about the voluntariness of the confession.

“The first is that the appellant was not legally represented at the police station. Although the evidence of Officer Ranger at the voir dire was that he

Police investigate hit anD run Death

P OLICE in New Providence are investigating after a man died in a hit and run on Monday night. Police said the incident happened at the intersection of Carmichael Road and Faith Avenue shortly before 9pm.

According to reports, the male pedestrian was trying to cross the street in the area when he was struck by a vehicle that failed to remain on the scene.

He was taken to hospital, however he died from his injuries the next day.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Criminal

Investigations Department at 502-9991/2 or Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477).

“The SUV had front end damages, more concentrated towards the left side,” police said. Investigations are continuing.

Defence force celebrates 43 years

was advised of his rights to a lawyer and responded ‘I straight. Y’all done get me’, the appellant’s evidence at the voir dire was that he had asked for a lawyer and the officers had beaten him and told him that he did not need a lawyer. This is consistent with the fact that he had not signed the relevant section of the detention record informing him of his right to have a lawyer.

“Secondly, there was no record of any injuries in the police detention record on his arrival at the police station even though at least the temporal abrasion to his face must, on the account given by the police officers, have been visible. On the contrary, the detention record records that on arrival at the police station, ‘he appeared well’ and was in ‘good health’. Further statements that the appellant ‘appeared well’ occur frequently in the detention record without a single reference at any point to any mark or injury on his body.

“Thirdly, and most importantly, there is the inherent improbability that during a period of detention (between July 22 2010 and July 25 2010) the appellant would voluntarily confess, without a lawyer, to at least six offences or groups of offences, including murder, for which there was no independent evidence.” The appellate court noted that the doctor offered contradictory evidence during the trial, something that should have factored into how Justice Turner handled his alleged confession.