Lovelace to wait for second shot

Patrick Lovelace’s second shot at avoiding a murder conviction has been delayed by at least another three months.

Lovelace was convicted in December, 2005 for the brutal 2002 murder of 12-year-old Lokeisha Nanton of Sion Hill.

He was granted a retrial in October last year.{{more}}

The Justices of Appeal ruled, among other things, that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Colin Williams had delivered an unfair closing speech during the trial.

Lovelace’s retrial was supposed to get on the way last month but has not been able to move off the blocks.

Last Monday, March 12, DPP Williams told the Court that it would not be wise, in his estimation to begin the Lovelace retrial during this current Assizes, which concludes next month. Williams argued that among other things, key witnesses including a Major Crimes Unit officer would be out of the state over the next few weeks. He also noted that he himself was expected to be out for short period of time.

Additionally he identified problems regarding timing as it relates to the availability of a witness from the Jamaican Forensic Sciences Laboratory.