Two weeks ago the Privy Council quashed their death sentences and convictions for four murders -and today the Court of Appeals ordered a retrial for Leslie Pipersburgh and Patrick Robateau. The inmates -who were on death row until two weeks ago - were escorted to the Court of Appeals under heavy security - and oddly without handcuffs. DPP Lutchman Sooknandan made the rare court appearance to present the application for a new trial. Their attorney Senior Counsel Simeon Sampson argued against it.
His argument was that the police did not conduct an id parade and that trial Judge Troadio Gonzalez erred when he failed to point that out to the jurors. Sampson asked the appeals judges to set Pipersburgh and Robateau free – because while dock identifications are admissible in court – they should be avoided. But in the end, the DPP prevailed and the appeal judges ordered the re-trial. A date for the new trial has not been set.
Information from the courtroom is that Pipersburgh made numerous attempts to speak to the Appeal Court judges but that’s not permitted. Pipersburgh and Robeateau are charged for the murders of Fidel Mai, Kevin Alvarez, David Flores and Cherry Tucker on the night of June 13 2002. They were convicted in March of 2004 and have been on death row since April of 2004.
