Kafele Garcia Murder Trial Nears End

Kafele Garcia

The murder trial of Lords Bank resident, Kafele Garcia, lost steam today for the Prosecution, after trial Judge, Supreme Court Justice, Colin Williams ruled that the caution statement given by the accused will not be accepted as evidence in the case. Justice Williams gave several grounds on which he made that decision, one: that Police used excessive force against Garcia and additionally, that Corporal Miller who prepared the statement did not sign the transcription of an interview with the accused. But the violation which Justice Williams found to be most serious was that the police did not provide Garcia the opportunity to speak to a family member, a Justice of the Peace or an attorney while he was in detention. “How can an Officer not ensure that he (the accused) speak with an attorney?” Justice Williams asked. “That was the most egregious of offences…That was a breach of his rights. A person’s rights must be taken into consideration,” the Judge said emphatically. Garcia is on trial for the murder of Ervin Franklin, who was stabbed to death in the Lord’s Bank area on the Phillip Goldson Highway in October of 2015.