Rare Bail for Accused Murderer at Supreme Court

Nelson Henry

It’s a rare occasion for an accused murderer to be granted bail by the Supreme Court; in fact, it has only happened three times before. But tonight, twenty-eight-year-old Nelson Henry is on temporary release from custody.  After six years in pretrial detention, Henry, accused of the sensational killing of well-known street figure Edward Lord Junior in June 2011, was sent home after meeting a steep bail of twenty-five thousand dollars.  This morning, shortly after ten o’clock, Henry appeared in the courtroom of Justice Adolph Lucas in the presence of attorney Oscar Selgado.  The high court judge cited Section Five of the Laws of Belize which reads, “The constitution gives the right to an accused person to be granted bail when he is not tried within a reasonable time in reference to the seriousness of the crime.  That section of the constitution places no boundary on the type of crime for which an accused person may be granted bail.”  Shortly thereafter, Justice Lucas concluded that the crown counsel presented no evidence for him not to grant bail to Henry.  His release comes with stringent conditions which will see the accused killer reporting to the Queen Street Police Station twice a week until his next court date on October fourth.  Likewise, Henry is to surrender all travel documents and remain at his Pinks Alley address for the duration of his trial.  The case against Henry dates back to April sixth, 2012 when he was committed to stand trial for murder.  He appeared in court on several occasions thereafter, but it wasn’t until June twentieth, 2017 that the proceedings actually commenced with a testimony by key witness Katherine Perteau.  From the onset, Perteau refused to answer questions put to her by the crown and the judge while under oath.  She told the court that she was under extreme stress after losing her home to a fire.  Perteau was then granted a one-month period to recuperate before returning to court in July.  While the matter was scheduled to resume on July seventeenth, Justice Lucas was presiding over another murder case involving Akeem Augustine, delaying Henry’s case yet again until September eighteenth.  When she reappeared in court on that date, Perteau only answered one question before refusing to respond altogether.  The case was adjourned until later that day pending a medical evaluation.

Edward Lord Jr.

According to Doctor Eric Bradley, Perteau was medically fit to testify in trial.  She, however, remained a hostile witness.  Following those developments, attorney Selgado filed a bail application on behalf of his client which was granted this morning.  On July twenty-ninth, 2011, Edward Lord Junior was mowed down in a deadly spray of bullets from a high-powered weapon as he walked along with a pair of friends on Mahogany Street.  As many as twenty rounds were fired in Lord’s direction in the vicinity of Brick City Barbershop.  It is believed that the fatal attack was reprisal for the gangland execution of dreaded street boss George ‘Junie Balls’ McKenzie a few years earlier.