Trending in Jamaica News: Rushawn Patterson’s Lawyer accused police of bowing to public pressure
Michelle Thomas, the attorney representing Rushawn Patterson, whom the police charged on Friday, November 11, 2022, for the murder of Slickina, has cried foul. She claimed the police had nothing on her client. Instead, the police moved forward with the case to appease the public due to mounting pressure.
If Michelle Thomas is correct in her assumption, the police have many questions to answer. I was astonished when I read the announcement on Facebook on Friday. Because the day before, it was all over social media that they did not have sufficient evidence to charge the accused. Also, the medium they used to make the announcement seemed unprofessional.
Still, it’s almost stupid to think the police are in the practice of arresting and charging people because the public thinks they should. Furthermore, accusing citizens without convincing evidence that they commit, aid, or abet a crime violates the constitution and the person’s human rights. So, even though it is not out of the realm of an over-zealous policeman to deliberately infringe on a citizen’s human rights. However, I doubt that is the case in this situation; because too many specialist departments were involved.
The accused attorney cried foul prematurely. Or maybe she was grandstanding, as most attorneys usually do to signal that they are working hard. And since there is no eyewitness, she might have checked this one off. So when the police announced that they had charged her client with murder, she was caught off guard.
But the law presumes an accused is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. So the court will have to rely on circumstantial evidence, even though it is not the best. But in a digital age where we have footage from CCTV, satellite, cellphone records, and DNA, circumstantial evidence is just as good or better than an eye witness.
As this case goes forward, the big question will be, did the police charge Rushawn Patterson, with the murder of Slickinabecause of public pressure.