Despite the threats posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers appeared in 15 matters in the Court of Appeal for 2020.
In these matters, the State was represented by Assistant DPP Dionne McCammon, Assistant DPP Diana O’Brien, Assistant DPP Teshana Lake, Assistant DPP Mercedes Glasford, Assistant DPP Natasha Backer, and Assistant DPP Stacy Goodings, Senior State Counsel Tuana Hardy, State Counsel Abigail Gibbs, and State Counsel Lisa Cave.
According to the Office of the DPP, of these 15 appeals, six were for the offence of murder, four for the offence of manslaughter, two for sexual offences, and one each for the offences of attempt to commit murder, falsification of accounts by clerk or servant and robbery with aggravation.
There were 10 appeals against conviction and sentence. One of these appeals was withdrawn, and one was allowed. The other eight appeals were allowed in part.
In two of these eight cases, the appeal against the conviction of murder was allowed and the offence of manslaughter was substituted and the appellants sentenced. In the other six cases, the appeal against conviction was dismissed, and the sentences were varied. There was one application to appeal against a life sentence, and this application was dismissed.
There were two applications for bail; one of these was denied while the other was granted. There were another two applications for extension of time to appeal. One of these was granted, while the other one was withdrawn and discontinued.
