A judge threw out a high-profile murder case against a U.S. couple accused of killing a Bequia boatman, stating that there was no evidence tying the pair to the crime.
The decision ended a nine-month ordeal for James and Penny Fletcher of Huntington, W.Va., who faced execution by hanging if convicted, though death sentences trigger automatic appeals.
The couple were charged with killing Jerome “Jolly″ Joseph, a 30-year-old boat taxi driver in the Grenadine island of Bequia who was last seen ferrying the Fletchers to their yacht.
Upon hearing the court’s decision, 35-year-old Penny Fletcher cried with relief and collapsed into the arms of her 50-year-old husband. Family gathered around, sobbing and hugging.
“I was so scared. I couldn’t sleep last night,″ Mrs. Fletcher said afterward. “I knew I was either going to go home today or be ordered to hang.″
“Penny and I are relieved and thankful,″ her husband said. “Justice has been served.″
The Fletchers, who claimed the charges were unsubstantiated, contended that corrupt officials had tried to extort $100,000 from them in return for their freedom. The Vincentian government denied it and demanded proof. As the case approached trial, President Clinton asked Vincentian Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell to ensure they got “due process.″
Outside the old stone courthouse, a crowd of supporters mobbed a van waiting to whisk the couple away. “Praise God! Praise God!″ one woman yelled.
Stephen Joseph, brother of victim, was stunned.
“I can’t do anything about it,″ he said, blinking back tears. “If they found them not guilty, I cannot say anything more.″
Acting on a defense motion to dismiss the case, Justice Dunbar Cenac ruled the prosecution’s circumstantial evidence failed to prove the Fletchers killed Joseph.
“The question remains: Who shot Jolly Joseph?″ the Eastern Caribbean High Court judge said. “There is no evidence before me, direct or indirect, that the accused committed this act.″
He then summoned the jury and directed it to acquit the Fletchers. The jury immediately did so.
One of the first things the Fletchers did after being freed Friday was to retrieve their U.S. passports from court officials. They and family members planned to travel to Key Largo, Fla., where James Fletcher’s parents live.
Joseph ferried the Fletchers to their yacht, the Carefree, the night of Oct. 6. His body was found floating off Bequia three days later, his heart pierced by a .22-caliber bullet.
The Fletchers had registered a .22-caliber handgun with Vincentian customs when they sailed into Bequia last August. They claimed a deckhand, Benedict Redhead, stole the weapon when he was fired later that month.
Redhead denied it. The gun never was found.
Prosecutor Karl Hudson-Phillips argued that conflicting statements by the Fletchers about the gun and some ammunition missing from the Carefree, together with other circumstantial evidence, incriminated the Fletchers.
Defense attorneys contended there was no blood, ballistics or circumstantial evidence and that talk of the missing firearm had nothing to do with who killed Joseph.
Family members of the Fletchers also claimed police made no effort to look for other suspects because the government feared harming the vital tourist trade if an islander were found to have committed the murder. Again, officials denied the claim.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines is known for its very low crime rate and welcoming attitude toward foreigners.
Many islanders were enraged by U.S. television reports they felt painted their island as corrupt and incapable of fairly judging the Fletchers under a system inherited from British colonizers.
