Lescene Edwards (Appellant) v The Queen (Respondent) (Jamaica)

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2019/0097

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

Judgment links

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

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