Two men cleared of murder charge in Trelawny killing

Two Trelawny men who were jointly charged with murder were acquitted on Wednesday after a lower court judge found that there was insufficient evidence to transfer the case to the higher circuit court for a trial.

Franklyn Brown and Nicholas Thomas were both freed following a committal proceedings hearing in the Trelawny Parish Court.

A parish court judge is empowered under the Committal Proceedings Act to conduct a hearing to examine written statements in a case to determine whether there is a prima facie case or sufficient evidence for an accused person to stand trial in the circuit court.

Brown and Thomas were arrested and charged in connection with the death of Milton Morris, 53, in Duncans, Trelawny on January 30 last year.

Donnovan Collins, the attorney who represented both men, used the case to underscore the importance of police investigators doing a thorough job “before interfering with a citizen’s right to liberty”.

“If a proper investigation was done in this matter then perhaps these men would not have been charged for murder in the first place,” said Collins.

Brown and Thomas both spent one month in custody before they were released on bail, according to the attorney.

A statement by a police witness in the case indicated that a man used a large metal pan to hit Morris on the head.

He died in hospital nearly one month later.

But Collins said the man who hit Morris was not placed before the court and “is still on the run”.

Further, the attorney said there was no evidence before the court that the man who hit Morris was acting together with his clients.

“The witness statement did not make mention of Nicholas Brown and as such, he should never have been charged and placed before the court,” said Collins.

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