The link that you posted is for a pre trial story dated 1/30.

This link is for today's story about him being convicted. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article285249887.html

Can't open it up ? But will go direct and check on this . Thanks .

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article285249887.html

Guilty and how many others in the BVI deserve the same .

The "Jason Bourne defence"?

That is great news indeed and finally some closure on this dark episode and blight on the BVI.

I hope this has several of our remaining top officials shaking in their boots..and more importantly, cleaning up their corrupt acts..

I can't open the Miami Herald story either. But the story is in the BVI Beacon.

BVI Beacon link

It appears that corruption in the BVI was a big business going back many years. One leader had a nickname of 10% .......... I have been following some of these characters for years. Sad that the country has so much corruption. The only hope I have is that the UK comes in to set up shop.

https://stthomassource.com/content/2022/09/16/feds-have-8000-plus-minutes-of-fahie-case-audio/

Interesting read.

Life in prison .

Remember Omar "Put-your-Hand-in-the-Cookie-Jar" Hodge?

Still living the Pirate Life....

Those people were something else , well crime pays the price .

Lesley--not really sure St. Maarten politicians have too much to be feeling superior about.

There's a new twist in the story. Apparently a couple of jurors had a change of mind after the verdict. Story is in the Miama Herald and JTV FB today.

The jurors were polled and dismissed. Not sure if there is a precedent.

Next thing we know that undersea volcano north of Grenada will erupt….

I certainly hope not, I can currently see where Kick 'em Jenny is from where I'm staying on Carriacou!

I did see that they raised the alert levels on Jenny. What are you hearing down there Z?

Sure do remember him He spent millions on the project. mucking up the land and in the end, South Sound now has runoff . Money went to the Dominican Republic to relatives.

I find it strange that the locals laugh at this but it is their money that is being stolen.

Here is the story in the BVI Beacon.

Link

Weird.

Changed their minds after they saw the size of the check on offer.

Jeannius--SSSSH!!

Can I get on one of these juries?

In recent years I've become used to seeing revisionist views of history with events from the past judged by modern viewpoints. But this is a first! I'm from a time where a handshake and a verbal promise were immutable - even with no witnesses. So this new twist in justice disturbs me to the very core.

What will become the future of jury verdicts? Will jurists have a grace period of several hours where they can be allowed to changed their mind? A week? A month? Perhaps they can ask the audience or phone a friend?

I agree, Zanshin. To vote "guilty" in the jury room, affirm their votes to the judge in the courtoom, and then recant a few hours later is very disturbing. It calls into question the legitimacy of the process and, in this case, it smacks of a payoff. I certainly hope that the judge affirms the verdict.

It's all over but the shouting. The verdict will NOT be disturbed. There was a pretty notorious case in my federal court (Boston) years ago when Iawyers for the losing side contacted jurors and obtained affidavits that purported to cast doubt on the integrity of the deliberations. It turned into something akin to The Star Chamber, and eventually the USDC enacted a local rule that severely limited the ability of a juror to even be interviewed once discharged. Almost all federal courts have a local rule now that addresses the limited circumstances when it's allowed (post-verdict juror interviews). It won't happen here.

Having tried 265 criminal jury trials to verdict in the U.S., I can tell you jurors having a “change of heart” is not as unusual as you might think. It happens often enough that competent trial judges and prosecutors know how to solidify a jury verdict. Polling the jury in open court and on the record is now done in almost every trial. Unless there was clear misconduct in the jury room, a guilty verdict with all jurors acknowledging their agreement on the record is hard to overturn. It can, and has happened, but it is exceptionally rare and requires clear evidence of misconduct. A change of heart or a changed mind after the fact isn’t enough. Again, this comes up more often than one would think and it is usually dealt with swiftly.

OceanSong--thanks for that perspective. While I am an attorney, the vast majority of my practice is civil, and not many jury trials.

Fitz - our son asked what you did for a living. He has an interest in the law.

Cleo, I was a corporate defense attorney, trying civil cases for major corporations before I retired in 2016. www.fitzhughlaw.com

I didn't follow the trial, and wasn't involved, so I can't speak to every appellate issue, but this dog won't hunt. Happens often enough that the jury is now routinely polled.