High Court to Hand Down Decision in Selgado Matter

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal

In court this morning, Lucas asked the judge to set aside the evidence presented by Commissioner of Police Chester Williams and former Inspector Wilfredo Ferrufino.  He argued that admitting the secondary evidence would be prejudicial to Selgado and pointed out to the court that their recollection of the audio recording was inconsistent.  On the other hand, the DPP asserted that the testimonies provided by the ComPol and the former Inspector are standalone proof of Ramirez’s statement.

Reporter

“What does it mean that he’s also telling the judge and I think the judge also said himself that he must approach Giovanni Ramirez’s statement with a lot of caution?  Could that hurt your case?”

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, Director of Public Prosecutions

“Those are the words that need to be used.  Those are ordinary words used in directions to judges, to juries when considering evidence.  Giovanni Ramirez did not actually come to testify, he did not go into the box and give his testimony and he wasn’t cross-examined.  So of course the judge is being asked to rely on a written statement, so the judge has to approach it with caution.  That does not mean that he cannot rely on it and in this case, as you have seen, there are so many aspects of that statement that have been independently confirmed.  So our argument was that of course, the judge can reach the position that he can safely rely on that statement.”