Samuel asks to be represented by Kay Bacchus-Browne

Prominent attorney Kay Bacchus-Browne will represent murder convict Shaun Samuel when his matter comes before the appeal court in January 2011.{{more}}

At a sitting of the Eastern Carribean court of appeal on Tuesday, appeal court judge Ola Mae Edwards appointed Bacchus-Browne as Samuel’s attorney.

Samuel, who is appealing his conviction, told the court that he only wanted the legal services of Shariz Aziz or Kay Bacchus-Browne. Samuel said he was told that Aziz was too expensive for the state.

When asked if he could represent himself, Samuel replied, “No”. Samuel added that he never wanted attorney Stephen Williams to represent him at his trial because “he wasn’t looking out for my best interest”.

“I want someone who can cooperate with me,” said Samuel, who was surrounded by two Rapid Response Unit Officers and one from the Special Services Unit.

Edwards told Samuel that the law of St Vincent and the Grenadines states he is entitled to have counsel assigned to him for his type of offence.

Samuel, also known as Adbul Rahim Parsons, was sentenced to death in 2008 after he was convicted of the murder of Stacy Wilson on December 11, 2006, at the Leeward Bus Terminal.

Samuel told the Court that he was not in possession of the transcripts from his trial and that he wrote several letters to the court indicating that he needed new transcripts, but he never got a response, he said.

In her response, Bacchus-Browne, who had to be called from her chambers just opposite the High Court, said that she was willing to represent Samuel and asked for time to be provided so that she could go over transcripts and other files pertaining to the appeal.

Her application was granted and an order was made for the Registrar, Tamara Gibson-Marks, to provide Bacchus-Browne with a copy of the record.

The matter was traversed to the next sitting of the appeal court.(KW)