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After 9 Years In Jail, CCJ Sets Japhet Free
posted (October 17, 2018)
Tonight, a convicted killer is a free man.

Japhet Bennet had been in jail for 9 years, convicted of the September 2009 murder of Ellis "Pepper Gacho" Meighan Sr. But, today in a majority decision, the Caribbean Court of Justice upheld his appeal and quashed his conviction, setting him free from the prison at 5:00 this evening. 7News spoke to his mother about that moment when he walked out free:..

Patricia Lanza - Japhet's Mother
"I'm excited I can't explain myself because I was waiting for this moment to come a long time, for 9 years now but I thank God and I give big thanks to Miss Matura and Mr. Sylvester for being there for me."

Reporter
"What is the first thing you guys are going to do when you get home?"

Patricia Lanza - Japhet's Mother
"We will get together and maybe start talk and have fun together with the whole family because everybody will be excited for him right now."

Reporter
"What was the emotion like when you first walked through the gate?"

Patricia Lanza - Japhet's Mother
"I don't know, I can't explain it. I just feel happy for my son coming out of this place, because he is here for something that he didn't even do for 9 years."

The Court found that the conviction was based on a single, shaky statement - which was later recanted by the witness in the trial. The court found that the trial judge, Adolph Lucas, should have upheld a no case submission, rather than letting it go to a jury. It's a surprise ending for Bennet - who went to jail as a minor in 2009. His Attorneys had only gone to the CCJ to seek special leave to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had affirmed the decision of Justice Lucas. But, the CCJ took the case as a full hearing of the appeal. His attorney Audrey Matura told us more:..

Audrey Matura - Japhet's Attorney
"The basic trust of the decision is that, he was convicted on the statement of a witness who wasn't an eye witness that saw the actual event but who supposedly came after. That witness, when he took the stand, changed his story and said no that's not the person. So, they treated him then as a witness who gave an inconsistent statement but now this was the only evidence, this inconsistent statement and we were arguing that it wasn't a safe way to convict someone. You have to have something else. That statement shouldn't be so weak. You should have been sure as to the identity. I want to say to that we had expected that today's decision would have been whether they gave us the permission, the special leave to appeal but what they did, the hearing for the special leave to appeal, they treated it as the appeal and they gave a full-blown decision. Five judges deliberated and I want to thank Mr. Anthony Sylvester who presented the first part of the case on my behalf because I wasn't in the country and the death penalty project, who were the attorneys in the UK, who helped us with the search and the argument. So, it's a team effort."

Matura and Anthony Sylvestre were supported by attorneys from the Death Penalty Project. Bennet cannot be re-arrested and likely no one will ever be brought to justice for Meighan's murder. He was the brother of Ernest "Jawmain" Meighan who was murdered in 2014. He was also the father of the well-known Meighan brothers of Banak Street.

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