Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Court tosses Prosecution’s appeal in Yan Edwards, Allen Baptiste case

Court tosses Prosecution’s appeal in Yan Edwards, Allen Baptiste case

The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling by the High Court, dismissing an appeal filed by the Office of the Director of Prosecutions in a matter involving Yan Edwards and Allen Baptiste.
The two men were handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole in 2013 after being tried and found guilty of Keri Harrigan’s murder, which occurred in 2011.

Edwards met an untimely demise earlier this year after he was reportedly shot while sitting at a bar in Parham Town in the East End community. He had previously been released from prison pending a retrial for the murder.

According to the judgment published on May 9, during the trial of Edwards and Baptiste, their lawyers requested information about any immunity, pardon, or deals made by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions or the police force with witnesses Henito Penn and Vaughn Cameron.

Penn and Cameron are part of the Justice Protection Program created by the Justice Protection Act.

Attorneys for Edwards and Baptiste argued that the prosecution had a duty to share this information to ensure a fair trial. But the prosecution objected, stating that it was not allowed to disclose the requested information under common law, the BVI’s Constitution, and the Justice Protection Act.

However, the judge ruled that the prosecution had to disclose the information to the court, which would then decide what information should be shared in full or with some redacted or anonymised details.

The trial was then put on hold until further notice, as requested by the prosecution under section 23 (4) of the Justice Protection Act.

The Prosecution, which was unhappy with the judge’s decision, appealed the ruling on the grounds that the judge’s order for disclosure may not have been permissible under common law or the Justice Protection Act.

In dismissing the appeal, the court said it took notice of the fact that the judge who paused the trial is now unable to continue and ordered that a new trial be commenced before another judge.

The prosecution was represented by Principal Crown Counsel Kellee-Gai Smith, while Edwards was represented by Sherfield Bowen and Baptiste was represented by Israel Bruce.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×