A handwriting expert testified in the Vybz Kartel murder trial in the High Court downtown Kingston yesterday that a letter which is about to be introduced into evidence by the defence was in fact written by the prosecution’s star witness.
Retired Senior Superintendent Carl Major, who was in charge of the Questioned Document section of the Government Forensic Laboratory, had been asked by defence attorney Tom Tavares-Finson to examine a photocopy of a statement given to the police by the prosecution’s star witness and compare the handwriting to a letter the defence claims was written by the witness and sent to the Office of the Public Defender.
In the early days of the trial, Tavares-Finson had suggested to the witness that he had written the letter claiming he was forced by the police to give evidence and that he had in fact seen Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams after the night of August 16, 2011 when police accuse the five men of beating him to death.
The witness had vehemently denied writing any such letter.
Tavares-Finson and lead prosecutor Jeremy Taylor locked horns when Tavares-Finson attempted to enter the letter into evidence but Taylor objected on the grounds that the attorney was using the wrong method to introduce the exhibit.
After a few heated exchanges, Justice Lennox Campbell calmed the waters and ruled that the letter could be entered but only for the signature, which was also featured 33 times on the photocopied statement.
The original handwritten statement was lost by the prosecution and both parties had agreed to use photocopies of the statement when the trial began.
Under questioning from Tavares-Finson, Major, who has been a handwriting expert for 25 years and is still asked to decipher handwriting by police and government prosecutors, said the letters were penned by the same person.
“All the sheets exhibit the same characteristics. In my opinion they were written by one and the same person,” he said under oath.
But the trial was not without its share of humour as Tavares-Finson asked Major whether he was employed by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to decipher the handwriting on a suicide note in the case of police constable Lascene Edwards who was convicted of killing the mother of his six children, Aldonna Harris, at her home in Pembroke Hall, St Andrew.
Edwards allegedly left a suicide note at the scene, giving the impression that Harris had killed herself.
But Major’s evidence that Edwards had in fact written the note himself, resulted in his conviction.
“Am I correct to say in November 2013 you were a witness for the prosecution in a murder case?” Tavares-Finson asked.
“Yes,” Major replied.
“Was it Mr Taylor who prosecuted the case?” the attorney asked wryly.
At that point Taylor intervened.
“I believe the witness said it was a female senior deputy prosecutor,” Taylor said sternly.
“Precisely, was it Mr Taylor who prosecuted the case?” he asked again to bouts of laughter.
Taylor was unfazed and when it was his turn to cross-examine the witness he tightened the screws.
He almost infuriated Major who, at one point, ‘cut his eye’ at the prosecutor who asked him numerous questions and cut him off as he tried to explain.
“Are there any limitations of relying on photocopied documents?” Taylor asked.
“Yes, sir,” Major replied.
“What are they?” Taylor continued.
“Because it’s a photocopy and not an original. Anything can be done to the original,” Major said.
“What is the practice at the Questioned Documents Section? Isn’t it normal practice to get original specimen?” Taylor went on.
“Yes,” he answered.
“Did you do that in this case?” Taylor asked again.
“No,” Major answered.
“Why didn’t you?” Taylor continued.
“It seemed hard to get,” Major answered.
Defence attorney Miguel Lorne then objected to Taylor’s line of questioning, claiming it was disingenuous because the prosecution had already admitted to losing the original statement and that Major was being asked to verify if both documents were penned by the same individual and the documents were not being questioned.
Vybz Kartel, Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, Shane Williams and André St John are all accused of Williams’ murder.
The trial is expected to continue today.
Good morning met yih kno i feel this hand writing expert is on finson payroll an hand witing oh noh handwriting de pickaxe an video sn text is more important than all this rubish handwriting time wasting scheme ofcokehead finson
just curious.. don’t be biased now. i am not a fan of cartel..
i think you are mislead hand writing expert is not on finsons payroll. the witness has been working with the state for over 30 years. the witness have worked with the prosecution on cases before so please read before you talk.. and take hatred out of your heart. let god be the judge.. by the way there was no one on the video killing anyone.. what was said was that they were plotting on the video to kill lizard.. nobody was killing anyone in the video
KEV Yu need to hold a few court room benches….. @Just curious you have a valid point. There is a REAL handwritting expert in Ja (female) .
Finson made it his business to get one associated with JCF to continue his propaganda campaign against JCF. He may do a closing argument pointing out the hand writting “expert” as a former of the JCF organization and how the letters were orchestrated by said org.
female??????? :tkp
Yes, female. I forgot her name she even do international cases.
well this expert said he viewed the documents for less than 30 minutes..court hysteria tun up
Beverly East
mi a go google har oo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverley_East
http://www.suspectsignatures.com/
Finson trying to use Major fi repeat a case where East showed falsified docs. created by unscrupulos members of JCF. ALL of finson tactics are from past phuckups created by JCF.
DPP and JCF gone beyond those days and technology in the hands of idiots a help them.
exactly..but now it turn pan him because the expert did not provide a report him only come a court come testify say a chow writing
See! told you we have “FI WE OWN” top a tops too. We global and inna EVERY thing *wink*. Ms. East integrity tun up so Finson neva did ago call her…lolol
yes ! n this person was not a trained graphicologist however it spell
thank u fi dat bit of info
“Sharing is caring” lolol.
Me sey I want this case to go two ways.
First, to see this gang of miscreants become a precedent in reducing criminality so that our youth population can distant themselves from these men who have couple dollars and use it to enslave them in criminal enterprises because they are poor.
The next one is to see lawyers like finson get run out of practice.
even if old finson gone see him lef di son fi carry di same ting on deh
He is Finson expert witness
Finson is the “defence” lawyer, correct and the prosecutor is Taylor.
miguel lorne is also a defence attorney.
For real so much people always talk bout kartel should dead n all that but honestly leave his judgment to the lord I’m not a kartel fan but your no better than him if u all are wishing a hateful death for him and his cohort we can be angry but let’s put god first
u can also b guilty by association. I remember reading one of kartels’ interviews and he said, in so many werds…”I can not control wat a nex man will do in the name of vybz kartel….if a man tek it up on himself to do someting that is wrong, (he is talking about his “sheep” here) how me response fi dat?….him might waa defen someting about d camp but is not me gee him d direct order fi do a man anyting, or tek a man life….”
Show me your company and I’ll show you who u are!!!
londy he said that??
yes met pon one interview em seh dat an em seh mi is not a murderer vbyz kartel just deal wid music but mi caw control weh a nexx man a guh duh inna vybz kartel name…dem respect mi but fi dem action a fi dem action.
Hayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy man tink em a did God ooooooooooooo
@Obs..thanks! Yea met i read dat rite here on my JMG. :angel
We better than him….ME a wish him numerous deaths…different than ACTUALLY killing him wid me own hands. Wishes don’t always come through but the act of MURDER is sure.
tHE ORIGINAL HAND WRITTEN DOCUMENT WAS LOST BY THE PROSECUTING SIDE?
SO THE STAR WITNESS IS THE ONE WHO WROTE THIS LETTER STATING HE SAW LIZARD AFTER 8/16/11?
the star witness is saying in conjuction that the police made him write it, under duress!
Mr Major, “the expert” with 25 years in the game, swears that the handwriting, is in fact, the handwriting of the star witness.
the defence is introducing this letter allegedly written by the prosecutions “star witness”.
wat ah gwaan yasso?!
please to explain, met, jmg crew, bloggers, peepers an all, bless-up.
elements of propaganda.
**!?**
Finson really outta order, bad, bad…..all ah refer to Taylor as the female prosecutor who major is referring too in his answer! where lawyers do that at!!!! :nerd
Let’s jus say di yute lie bout di handwriting….wat about his co-defendants who place him and di victim at di house after him seh him wasn’t dere? Wat about di juro weh a linkup wid di defense attorney ? Seriously I have never heard of dat in a trial before! NEVERRRR…..my point is som a unu affi a nitpick fi find som fi hold on to, but all di odda evidence against him is overwhelming smfh. If dem so innocent why dem Neva take di stand an giv sworn testimony suh dem cud be cross examin? Oh I know why! cuz dis wul ting wud rap longtime an dem be doing time
MET U KNOW U AND UR FOLLOWER ARE NOT MUCH DIFFERENT FROM KARTEL AND HIM FOLLOWER! IF ANY ANYBODY STATE A DIFFERENT OPINION OR IN DEFENSE OF JUSTICE TOWARD THE DEFENDANT YOU GUYS START BASH DEM AND CUSS!! I NOTICE WE HAVE TO DECLARE WE ARENT KARTEL SUPPORT BUT JUST VOICING OUR IMPARTIAL OPINION!!!!! NOW HOW BIG PROSECUTOR LOSE SUCH A CRITICAL EVIDENCE AS THAT LETTER THAT LOOK HIM DID TRY BURY THE LETTER PLUS WHY NEVER SEND IT TO Government Forensic Laboratory
It’s not Met nor I a bloggers fault onu have fi declare onu self as not being fans…yet, onu end up as Kartel defenders by de end of onu post. As a Met follower me stand fi JUSTICE and INTEGRITY inna me Island nation and call DEATH to who nu like it.
Onu integrity shaky at best and onu give “wings to fantasy” to free onu lord and savior demon child. Bout prosecutor lose and bury letter…stfu. If it did bury photocopy wouldn’t exist!
but phantom a dem always cuss wi and all like today when mi ignore dem u see dem a come tell lie
All the time. If not fi dem caplock pon stucky…lol…me would gwan like me nu see dem. But dem LOVE caplock…lolol
I try to avoid shirley topic dem , but sum a unu too much and unu love talk bout unu is not kartel fans and all dese tings..The antics that the defense is putting forward is a clear attempt to cast reasonable doubt and confusion..Overwhelming evidence has been presented and a lot of u who claim unu a nuh fan of SHIRLEY is quick to ignore but focus on minute pieces of evidence that doesn’t CHANGE facts of this case. Weda me like shirley aka Mr.Palmer or NOT, There is overwhelming evidence of his guilt and i hope the system and GOD reward him accordingly..
:maafaganwati