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Sean Innocent (L) pictured with Marcus Foster, says the time and expense of retrying the Cathedral case is not in the public interest.
Six years after the horrific Cathedral incident, and several cases later the Court of Appeal has ruled that the accused in the Cathedral killings be retried.
On December 31, 2000, the nation was thrown into shock after news broke of two men who had set on fire worshippers at the RC Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The attack resulted in the death of Father Charles Gaillard and Sister Theresa Egan suffered severe burns.
Two men—Kim John and Francis Phillip—who were captured, confessed to the crime. On April 16, 2006, they were found guilty of murder.
However a US psychologist had claimed that they suffered from a “paranoid delusion disorder”. The psychologist’s report also stated that the two men had suffered a lifetime of abuse.
Director of Public Prosecutions Victoria Charles-Clarke says a retrial is important in the interest of justice.
But on April 30, 2003, Justice Indra Hariprashad-Charles sentenced the two men to death by hanging. Justice Charles deemed the act as “one of the worst cases of murder.”
However, the defense team made up of state-appointed attorneys Kenneth Foster QC, Jeannot Michel-Walters and Sean Innocent appealed her decision and but lost. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) affirmed the sentence from the High Court. However, the defense did not stop there. They appealed that decision through the Privy Council who ruled in their favour.
Commenting on the case during a radio newscast, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Victoria Charles-Clarke stated: “The Court of Appeal felt this case was a matter of public interest and it did not believe that the order by the Privy Council allowed it to substitute a sentence of life imprisonment and therefore, in the interest of justice, according to the judgment, it was felt that a retrial was the best thing.”
However Sean Innocent had a different opinion: “It really does not serve the public interest in terms of the time and expense involved in retrying the matter,” he said, during the newscast.
Innocent said the result could end up being the same or an acquittal.
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To sentence one to be hanged and actually carry it through is a so called civilized way of premeditated murder. It is murder nontheless but we’re supposed to know better. So in the end, I believe that we become worse muderers than those guys.
father gaillard was a family member, a very decent, person who served st lucians to his last breath, of course he didnt deserve this brutality. he baptised my son, such a sad story. may his soul rest in peace.
Simon what is this bs about “a civilized way to premeditated murder”. Is there no crime, no matter how horrific, that deserves the death penalty? According to your reasoning even the Nazis who exterminated millions in their concentration camps and millions more in their wars of aggression should be spared the ultimate punishment. Perhaps you wish to show how “civilized” you are or how overflowing with compassion. For some of us the willful murder of people in their places of worship requires that we as a society answer with the strongest possible response. If these men are found guilty in a court of law after having exhausted all their legal options we should exercise our prerogative to carry out the death penalty. The truest form of justice is when the punishment fits the crime. I repeat that the punishment MUST FIT THE CRIME. When one murder is committed there are many victims and the loss is irrevocable. So before you sit smugly on your civilized compassionate high horse and glibly use the word “murder” to describe the punishment of execution meted to persons who kill willfully and unprovoked and show absolutely no remorse, do take some time to think of the number of victims, how deep the pain of loss and how final and irrevocable the damage. Take some time to reflect on how the blood is so senselessly shed in our streets today. “Come and see the blood in the streets; come and see the blood in the streets”.
The crime committed was vile. Whether those two people were psychologically insane, only God knows. The Lord says, justice is mine, so leave it now to the Lord. As a member of the Gaillard family, it is a bitter pill to swallow by turning the other cheek. So leave it up to the Lord to judge and dish out their punishment. Even if it takes 100 years, justice will be done.
So Mr.Simon, Please tell us what we do with those people, high profile, potential murderous with intent, premeditated killers on our island!!!!! After hearing so many a times being repeated, I`ll chop you to pieces, which some do, I`ll kill you, them go to jail, and get fat, my three meals a day and so on!! please give us a hint what could be done to feel safe ion my sweet little island? Don`t tell me you`ve never heard those words coming from some of our people, I say, If anyone could commit such barbarious acts! let the law deal with them accordingly!!
What I’m saying is that murder is murder no matter how it is executed. To kill someone because he killed, doesn’t it makes us killers too? The only difference is the fact that it is acceptable in certain societies, but nonetheless it is murder. Aren’t we suppose to be the civilized ones, so why are we stooping to their level and kill them?
It takes a long time to convict and sentence someone to death and the jury has to ponder and deliberate so it is premeditated.
And since it happened in a church, I will use the Good Book to justify my case. The Most High(Blessed Be He/She) said ‘Thou shalt not kill’ but didn’t say who shalt not kill, I think that commandment is for all of us.
I would like for this same act to be committed to one of your family memebers SIMON, so you can open your eyes to the senseless violence in St.Lucia.As far as I am concern now…All this Bible reading is too be questioned…Father Gaillard was doing God’s work.If God, sees and hears everything there is no way he would allow these men to go into HIS house ( Church) and commit such a crime to these two people. What kind of God is that, to have those people leave in such pain after all the good whey were put there to do in the first place…Watch it simon !!!!!
All I can say is the’LAW IS AN ASS” particularly whenit is used by our scholars in such a reprehensive way which is not to the greater good of the community at large.
to the ones who say no good comes of hanging such elements of our fair Helen … I say you have not had a faimly member hurt , killed or other wise harmed by this kind of violence.. SO SHUT UP!!
yOU more than likely dont live in a community where gun shots are the one thing you fear more than the mosquitoes buzzing at night… and you more than likely dont take a”transport ” coming from your job late at night and have to travel through such areas aftr having worked a full 14hr shift… so SHUT UP!!!.
It is high time we strt back hanging and using the ‘ cat of nine tails” to stop this madness and insnity of violence that is so prevalent today.We need to face fact our society is in disaray violence is not a creciendo WAKE UPA ND SMELL THE COFFEE!!!
Please explain to me why two people who committed such terrible crimes should not be dealt the death sentence, but instead be considered insane by some psychologist from the US? This crap is pulled all the time here in the US, causing murderers to walk free based on insanity - look at how messed up the US is! Is that the latest trend in the legal system in Saint Lucia these days - get a psychologist from the US to say you’re crazy and you’ll walk? Give the punishment for crying out loud!! There’s a special place for the lawyers who do not have a conscience and defend these murderers.
They need to bring back the death penalty in St. Lucia, Trinidad and Jamaica. Stop wasting tax payers money on these criminals and put that money to better use - fix the roads, more programs for the youth, help for battered women and children. The laws of the islands are too lenient and there’s no accountability for these vile acts that are being committed on a regular basis. How many more innocent people have to die?
What am I suppose to watch Ian? Don’t I have the right to free speach? And why do you people like killing? A spade is a spade and killing is killing plain and simple no matter who does it.
Why were they not hanged, as they were sentenced to, they would not be here today posing another threat to our citizens! Let`s stop taking the the Law for a Pappyshow! the guys stated, they would do the same again!! after the sentence!! hey wake up pull the carpet under them! i would say the same if my brother commited such a crime! (what happens when a dog goes mad,shoot him) I hope if ever justice is ever to be done, get rid of them this time!!!
Lucians be still and let the Lord do his work! All this hale’-kase’ is preventing justice from being served. I understand you perfectly Simon; however we have to be sensitive towards other people’s feelings and understand that not everyone really understands the concept of Turning The Other Cheek. It walks hand in hand with Forgiveness. As a man of God i think that’s what Father Gaillard would want.
Don’t get me wrong though. I think those Murderers will still pay for the heinous crime that they comitted.
God is not Sleeping…when it rains it rains in everyones yard. Even the WICKED!
PEOPLE SAW THEM DOI AND THEY SAID GIVE THEMA CHANCE THEY WILL DOIT AGIAN SO IS EITHER THER STAY INSIDE TIL THEY DIE OR SEND A MESSAGE BY REOPENING THE GALLOWS ITS TIME ST.LUCIAS LAW TAKE BACK THE COUNTRY HARSHER PENALTIES FOR UNNESSECARY CRIMES
ST.LUICA NEEDS TO TAKE BACK THE ISLAND AND MAKE IT SAFE ONCE AGAIN WE’RE A TOURIST DESTINATION LAST THING WE NEED IS OUR BEAUTIFUL REP TARNISHED ST.LUCIA NEEDS TO GO DOWN AS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WITH THE BEST LAWS IN THE WORLD WHEN CRIMINALS WRECK THAT IMAGE THEY PAY AND SO WE NEED TO HAVE THE STRICKEST LAWS TOO .LIKE 100YEARS IN PRISONS WITHOUT PAROE PEOPLE NEED TO BE AFRAID OF JAILTHEN THEY WILL THINK TWICE B4 COMMITING A CRIME AND AS FOR ALL THE SCRIPTURES WE GOTTA KNOW OUR BIBE B4 WE COME AND TALK CHECK OUT THE OLD TESTIMENT WHER EIT SELF IF YOU KILL YOU SHALL BE KILLED LETS NOT GET SCRIPTURE TWISTED AT THE END OF THE DAY GOD WILL DEAL WITH IT AS HE SEES RIGHT