GRAND COURT Not guilty verdict in GBH charge
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from October 1998.
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In his address to the jury, Mr. Justice Henry Graham pointed out that if the jury found that the defendant was not defending himself, then he was guilty of the offence. However, if they felt the defendant had: (a) cause to defend himself; and (b) used reasonable force to defend himself, then he should be acquitted.
Crown Counsel Jane Rowley noted in her opening remarks that the complainant suffered six stab wounds to his back which were not lifethreatening and therefore the defendant was charged with grievous bodily harm and not attempted murder.
She called three civilian witnesses and a police officer who testified for the prosecution.
The complainant, Henry Carter of Palm Dale (formerly of Bodden Town), said he was at the public beach in Bodden Town on 1 July, 1997 around 6 pm where he and several men played dominoes. Around 7 pm he saw the defendant come onto the beach area. An argument ensued and they fought briefly on the prompting of Berry. Carter said he struck Berry to the ground, walked away and went back to playing dominoes.
A few minutes later, Carter said he heard someone warn him to "look out" and he felt someone hit him near his armpit under his left arm from behind. Carter grabbed for the person who approached him from the left, he said, adding that he is blind in his left eye. He said he thought Berry was punching him in his back but Carter was in fact being stabbed; he suffered six multiple, sharply incised stab wounds to his back (according to the medical report in evidence).
He said that while in the ambulance he felt weak; faint; he wanted to go to sleep. The next day he was sore and could not even dress himself. The stitches were removed two weeks later, and the wounds took three to four weeks to heal. He has recovered except for scars, and one scar has a lump which swells from time to time, he noted.
Other Crown witnesses, Wayne Seymour and Tyrone Gibson, both of Bodden Town, gave their accounts of what happened that evening. Both witnesses said they saw Berry take the knife from his pants pocket and that it had a three-inch blade. Seymour, who said he is Berry's cousin, noted that he saw Berry stab Carter with the knife, so he ran to call an ambulance. He said he went with another man who drove Carter to Crewe Road where they met the ambulance which took Carter to the hospital. Self-defence
Defence Attorney Stephen Hellman told the Court he would not be calling any witnesses but Berry's defence was self-defence. The report from the doctor who examined Berry was read which stated that Berry did not have any bleeding but there was an abrasion behind his left ear and minor head injuries.
In his address to the jurors, Mr. Hellman said his client did not have a knife that night but had picked up a piece of "scrap metal" which he used to defend himself. He added, "The fact that someone comes off worst does not mean that he is the innocent party." Mr. Hellman noted that Carter had been stabbed six times but he would suggest that grievous bodily harm means really serious wounds. "The wounds were superficial and Carter was discharged the same night," he added, stating that there were no injuries to the inside structure.
The Judge told the jury that if they found that the defendant was guilty of an offence, it was a matter for them to decide whether the defendant could be guilty of actual bodily harm instead of grievous bodily harm, depending on their finding as to the seriousness of the wounds.
