Attorney working to save convicted murderer from hangman’s noose

Convicted murderer Patrick Lovelace appears to be facing the hangman’s noose.{{more}}

However, prominent attorney Kay Bacchus Browne is doing all in her power to prevent him from meeting such an end.

In an interview earlier this week, Bacchus Browne said she was requested by Lovelace to conduct his appeal, which she said is now heading to the Privy Council.

“We are going to appeal his conviction and sentence to the Privy Council. It is a bit late, but I am getting the assistance of Simons, Muirhead and Burton (solicitors from the United Kingdom),” she told SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday.

Bacchus Browne said the attorneys are loooking at the matter favourably in terms of giving their assistance.

“I have already written the authorities, letting them know that I will be appealing against his conviction and sentence..,” she added.

On Wednesday, July 15, 2009, a 12 member mixed jury unanimously found Lovelace guilty of the murder of 12-year-old Lokeisha Nanton, who was found hanging from a mango tree at Cane Garden, back on July 2, 2002. Lokeisha had been raped and her blouse tied around her neck. A post mortem report revealed that she died as a result of strangulation.

Justice Frederick Bruce-Lyle on Friday, February 26, 2010, handed down the ultimate sentence to Lovelace, after upholding a request by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Colin Williams to have the death penalty imposed.

Bacchus-Browne added that Lovelace is basically set to be hanged, because the previous lawyers did not appeal against his sentence. She explained that his recent appeal was lost and the attorneys then, only appealed against conviction.

“We have to get in that appeal and we are working on that urgently…,” Bacchus-Browne noted.

She added that the deadline to apply may have already past and stated that she only learnt of the development in the matter late last week.

“We are probably going to have to ask for an extension of time, but we will do whatever is necessary to get this appeal before the Privy Council as soon as possible.”

According to Bacchus-Browne, it is always wise to appeal against sentence and conviction, especially when the sentence of death is involved.

When contacted, Director of Public Prosecutions Colin Williams said there was an appeal against conviction, which Lovelace lost. Williams noted that counsel Vynnette Frederick and Shiraz Aziz conducted the appeal on Lovelace’s behalf.

It is the opinion of the DPP that Lovelace is already out of time.

“I think that he is out of time; that is just my view. He has exhausted his appeals… Basically in not appealing against sentence, they thought that the sentence of death is appropriate in those circumstances. In other words, if you do not appeal sentence, you are saying that if found guilty, that the sentence of death is appropriate,” Williams said.

The last time anyone was hanged in this country was February 13, 1995 when Douglas Hamlett, Franklin Thomas and David Thomas went to the gallows. They were all convicted of murder.