Tom Poole KC Instructed by Charles Russell Speechlys LLP (London) for the Respondent
Jurisdiction – Jamaica
Parties
Appellant(s) – Lescene Edwards
Respondent(s) – The Queen
Issue
Whether the conviction of Mr Lescene Edwards constitutes a miscarriage of justice such that his conviction is unsafe and should be quashed.
Facts
Mrs Aldonna Harris-Vasquez died in her home on 5 September 2003. Mr Edwards was charged with her murder and the case centred on whether he had fatally shot Mrs Harris-Vasquez or whether she had committed suicide. A jury convicted Mr Edwards with her murder on 31 October 2013 and on 5 November 2013 he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a term of 35 years before he would be eligible for parole.Mr Edwards unsuccessfully appealed against the conviction to the Court of Appeal of Jamaica. The Court dismissed his appeal against the conviction but reduced his sentence to 20 years before he would become eligible for parole.Mr Edwards was granted final leave to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the “JCPC”) in relation to whether the ten year delay between the incident and his trial contravened the Constitution of Jamaica. He now separately seeks permission to appeal to the JCPC against his conviction on various grounds which, taken together, make the case that the proceedings constituted a miscarriage of justice. He also applies to admit fresh evidence in support of these submissions.
Date of issue – 16 September 2019
Judgment details
Judgment date – 4 April 2022
Neutral citation
[2022] UKPC 11
PDF
Judgment on The National Archives (HTML version)
Judgment on BAILII (HTML version)
Appeal
Justices
Lord Hodge
Lord Leggatt
Lord Burrows
Lady Rose
Sir David Bean
Hearing dates
Full hearing
Start date – 15 February 2022
End date – 16 February 2022
Please contact us either by telephone: +44 (0)20 7415 7800 or email: clerks@3harecourt.com
