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| Cecil Penn found not guilty |
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| Written by Webmaster | |
| Wednesday, 18 November 2009 | |
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Justice Indra Hariprashad-Charles directed a jury to find Cecil Penn not guilty of aiding, abetting or procuring a murder last Thursday, after the Crown’s key witness, Aaron George, claimed he killed Mr. Connolly in a botched robbery.
Mr. Connolly’s son and daughter, Jack, 25, and Lauren, 23, sobbed audibly and rushed out of the courtroom as the verdict was read. Janet Connolly, the deceased man’s wife, shouted, “You’re a stupid man, and you’ve ruined loads of lives,” as Mr. Penn was escorted from the courtroom. Mr. George was widely expected to testify that he was hired to kill Mr. Connolly, but last week he told a different story. “Well, I went by he house, I went to rob he, and things just happen bad,” Mr. George said. “He was trying to hit me with a sax, and I pulled the trigger and hit him with five shots,” he said. Mr. George testified that after the robbery, he became scared and ran away. He told the Court that he made up the story involving Mr. Penn because he didn’t want to “appear soft.” “It kept sinking me and sinking me down in a pit, until it end me up here in this box,” he said, adding that the he lied to police to get a lighter sentence. After Mr. George’s confession, Director of Public Prosecutions Terrence Williams closed the Crown’s case, saying it was not worth the Court’s time to attempt to continue a trial. Justice Hariprashad-Charles had no choice but to direct the jury to return a not-guilty verdict. Outside the courthouse, friends and family waited to greet Mr. Penn, who has been held on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison at Balsam Ghut since his arrest in 2007. Mr. Penn, who had always maintained his innocence, said his time in prison had been hard on his family and his business. “I know I would be a free man; because I do nothing, I fear nothing,” he said. Mr. Penn added that he had no interaction with Mr. George in prison, and maintained he never had difficulties with the project managers at Little Dix Bay resort.
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