aving weighed
all the evidence...it does not justify commital," Magistrate Haynes Blackman
announced on 28 October in the extradition cases of Noel Heath, Glenroy Matthew
and Charles Miller. The magistrate also ordered that all property seized from
the men be returned within 14 days. The ruling means that for the first time
in over two years, the three men, whose involvement in the drug trade has long
been alleged, are not facing criminal charges. The U.S. Government sought the
trio's extraditon for "Conspiracy to Import Cocaine."The defendants and their families were surprisingly sedate after the ruling was announced in the courtroom. Responding to a question, the wife of one of the defendants proclaimed "I'm happy and thankful to almighty God." Defence attorney Dr. Henry Browne stated emphatically, "the learned magistrate has vindicated the strength of the law, and has again reposed confidence in the independence of the judiciary." Other observers interpreted the decision rather differently since it has long been rumored that the defendants were major financial supporters of the Labour Party's successful 1995 election bid.
Police officials were disappointed about the outcome. They hoped that a successful extradition would have broken through the tremendous difficulties of prosecuting such cases--intimidation and bribery--in a small island nation.
Over two months had passed since the end of the hearings on 23 August, causing much discussion on St. Kitts about why the decision was taking so long. The case has been closely followed by the general public, with people wondering what consequences would follow from a decision to extradite them, or to dismiss the case. In recent months, many Kittitians have reported difficulty attaining visas to the U.S. and others have been subjected to particularly invasive security procedures while clearing U.S. customs. This has fueled speculation of efforts to intimidate St. Kitts into following the will of the world's only remaining "superpower." How the ruling will affect the federation's drug problem is unclear.
The three men were arrested on May 29 and their vehicles were impounded along with documents and other property. They were each released on $25,000 bail the following day. Heath's charges involved allegations of shipping cocaine to Rochester, New York between June 15 and July 5, 1992, while the case against Miller and Matthew was based in Miami and dated from August 1 through October 13 , 1994. Their high-powered defence team included Dr. Henry Browne, Kenneth Foster, QC from St. Lucia, Fitroy Bryant and Fenton Ramsohoye, QC of Guyana.
In a statement lasting over two hours, the magistrate made a strong case for his decision. Blackman reviewed the arguments and evidence which had been presented by both sides in a week of hearings from 19-23 August. At the heart of his decision was Blackman's assessment of some half dozen transcripts of telephone conversations allegedly involving the defendants. The prosecutor for the U.S., retired Barbadian Judge Frederick Smith, QC, had argued that the transcripts demonstrated the conspiracy and proved the role of the accused. Blackman declared "I have read the transcripts a number of times...they are incomprehensible, unintelligible and meaningless." In one 84-page transcript, he counted 852 references to "unintelligible" parts and 552 spaces indicating omissions. Moreover, the language and style of speaking led him to state "I was tempted to say that they spoke in tongues." He noted that if the prosecution had provided sufficient "extrinsic evidence" to help him understand the conversations, the case might have gone differently.
Blackman lectured the prosecution on the poor quality of its affidavits, pointing out duplications of transcripts and the inclusion of five improper affidavits which had been sworn in St. Kitts. He ruled that this evidence was inadmissible under the 1870 Extradition Act. Blackman also pointed out that the prosecution's case was greatly weakened by its reliance on affidavits rather than oral testimony which would have been subject to cross-examination.
While U.S. officials claim that there will be no retaliation against St. Kitts, they are not ready to give up on this case. "I think this is far from over," asserted Gary Tuggle, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency special agent who worked on the case. His government is "considering filing new charges," he said.
