37 year-old Jorge Vidal, a carpenter of Benque Viejo Town in the Cayo District, got good news today when Justice Collin Williams granted him the rare Supreme Court bail for murder. He is charged with the murder of Hortencio Contreras, another Benque Viejo resident, who was killed on December 31, 2005.
Vidal's attorney, Oscar Selgado, applied to the court on the grounds that Vidal was acquitted of the murder charge in the Belmopan Supreme Court, but he was later re-arrested and charged back in 2015, after the DPP's Office successfully appealed his acquittal. Selgado noted that no new indictment has been brought against Vidal, and neither has a date been set for his re-trial. Selgado also asserted to the court that Vidal's constitutional right has been breached since he is entitled to a fair trial within a reasonable time, and 9 months has passed since the retrial was ordered. Selgado also submitted that it would be a grave injustice if Vidal is kept in custody since it is unlikely that the trial will proceed in the foreseeable future.
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