Jasmine Hartin Pleads Not Guilty in Indictment Hearing

Today, Jasmine Hartin walked up the stairs of the Supreme Court for an indictment hearing before Justice Ricardo Sandcroft. The hearing was in reference to the manslaughter by negligence charge on the Canadian national for the shooting death of Superintendent Henry Jemmott, which occurred on May twenty-eighth, 2021. During the proceedings this morning, Hartin pled not guilty to the charge. Here’s an interview with her attorney, Dickie Bradley about what transpired inside the court.

Dickie Bradley

Dickie Bradley, Attorney for Jasmine Hartin

“In regards to the allegation of manslaughter by negligence for which Miss Hartin pled not guilty to the judge. The crown was represented by the Director of Public prosecutions, Cheryl-Lynn Vidal and it was agreed and the court ordered that in September case management would be conducted. After that process, then that case will then be trained for a trial date to be agreed upon. His lordship Justice Ricardo Sandcroft also made the observation that while there is legislation to say that manslaughter and other offences are no longer required to be tried by a jury, that legislation does not speak to manslaughter by negligence and so his lordship was saying that the jury pool in Belize, Belize being the population is not really large in our country, that basically we all have an idea about each other, certainly in Belize City as it is in the district towns. So his lordship quite rightly is mindful and concerned that this business of trying to conduct a trial in the media, by the media or by parties who are representing persons – that will not be the modus in relation to the trial in his court. He made several observations and he also indicated that he is of the view that he may invite media representatives to sit in so that an agreed protocol as to what he expects from the media’s responsibility to report only on the facts and the evidence of a trial – the way it is to be done.”