Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer
LANCELOT ARMSTRONG, a Jamaican man on death row in Florida, has been granted an extension of time for a clemency hearing, pending investigation of alleged irregularities relating to a prosecution witness.
Armstrong, in the meantime, has made a personal appeal to the Jamaican Government, renewing his request for assistance in escaping death by lethal injection.
An evidentiary hearing had been scheduled for this Friday, April 14, when Mr. Armstrong's lawyers would have been required to present mitigating arguments in support of their plea for clemency on his behalf.
On Monday, however, the court granted a 180-day suspension of the hearing. This was done, according to David Rowe, Armstrong's attorney, "because it was determined that a government witness who testified against Mr. Armstrong had a non-disclosed felony record, which is contrary to law".
ADDITIONAL TIME
As a consequence, he said, the judge had given additional time for his legal team to prepare for the hearing.
In the meantime, according to Rowe, another investigation has been initiated by "a third party quasi-government agency" in the U.S., aimed at looking into the circumstances of Mr. Armstrong's conviction in 1990 for the murder of Broward County Sheriff's Deputy John Greeney.
Armstrong, in a handwritten 'open letter' to Attorney-General A.J. Nicholson (dated April 10), a copy of which was faxed to The Gleaner, renewed his claim that the Jamaican Government had neglected his plight for 16 years.
"From my arrest in 1990 to February 15, 2006 no Jamaican diplomat, representative or consul came to see me while I have been in prison. I have made several requests for help from the consulate in Miami, Florida, with no response," he said.
That was until Consul General Ricardo Allicock and Vice Consul, Vince Carter, visited him in jail on February 15.
