By Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterAFTER DELIBERATING for an hour yesterday, a Home Circuit Court jury freed the two policemen who were on trial since Monday for the murder of seven-year-old Romaine Edwards, of Track Gate District, Lawrence Tavern, St. Andrew.
Mr. Justice Lloyd Hibbert in summing up the evidence to jurors left both murder and manslaughter, the lesser offence, for their consideration.
RESIDENTS PROTEST
The jury retired at midday and returned an hour later with the unanimous verdict that Constables Leon Hall and Oral Morris were neither guilty of non-capital murder nor manslaughter.
The shooting had sparked a protest from some residents in the community who claimed that the killing was "senseless". On the anniversary of the boy's death last year, citizens held a candlelight vigil in the community to protest against his killing.
In their defence, the policemen said that two men, one who allegedly was the notorious gang leader Norris Brown also called 'Taliban', fired shots at them, forcing them to retaliate. They said based on information, they went into the area in search of Taliban on July 22, 2004. When they saw Taliban and another man in a yard, they shouted "police, don't move", but the men fired shots at them and they returned the fire.
The Crown, represented by Kenneth Ferguson, Crown Counsel, alleged that the boy was shot and killed on the morning of July 22, 2002, when two policemen fired shots into the yard where the boy lived. The boy was inside the yard at the time of the shooting. He died from multiple gunshot injuries.
Edward's mother, Jennifer Young, and his father, Byron Edwards, had testified that the policemen just came up and fired into their yard. Edwards said when he shouted that the boy was dead, the policemen continued firing. Under cross-examination by defence lawyers Tom Tavares-Finson and Peter Cham-pagnie, the witnesses denied the suggestion that a gang leader called Taliban, who was a relative of Edwards, was in the yard on the day of the incident. It was suggested to the witnesses that shots were fired at the policemen, to which they responded no.
Taliban was shot and killed by the police in a shoot-out in September 2002. Prior to his death, the police had offered a reward for his capture.
