Shorn Samuel causes stir again in court

There’s never a dull moment when convicted murder Shorn Samuel sets foot in court.{{more}}

Samuel, who is appealing his conviction for the brutal murder of Stacey Wilson, on December 11, 2006, sent three pieces of detailed correspondence to the Court of Appeal, to highlight hurdles he says he faces.

At the commencement of the Court of Appeal sitting at the High Court on Monday, January 24, appeal court judge, Justice Ola Mae Edwards said the three pieces of correspondence were dated: December 8, 2010, December 9, 2010, and December 15, 2010.

With raised eyebrows, counsel for Samuel, Kay Bacchus-Browne told the court that she was totally unaware that her client had sent the letters.

“I spoke to him (Samuel) last week and he asked me if I received the correspondence,” Bacchus-Browne noted.

The first piece of correspondence highlighted Samuel’s complaints that the court’s time was being wasted and that he has been on death row for nearly two years now. He also said that he is prepared to conduct his own appeal.

The second piece of correspondence spoke about additional grounds of appeal and complaints about his counsel. Samuel raised questions about the fairness of the trial. He also noted that the psychiatrist assigned to him was a “waste of time”.

In the third and final correspondence, Samuel complained that his counsel was not abiding by his instructions.

A highly surprised Bacchus-Browne reiterated that she was totally unaware of her client’s actions and requested the matter to be traversed to the next sitting of the Court of Appeal.

Samuel was convicted for Wilson’s murder on December 18, 2008 and sentenced to death.