Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

wo murder cases which were set for trial in the Home Circuit Court yesterday had to be put off because of insufficient jurors.

The court was told that only 17 jurors were available for jury selection. A murder case requires at least 26 jurors for jury selection because the Crown and the defence are each entitled to challenge seven jurors and 12 jurors have to be empanelled for a murder case.

There was a total of 34 jurors in attendance yesterday but 19 of them were selected last week in two cases which will be completed this week.

Several attorneys-at-law said it was "outrageous" that the accused were in custody, the witnesses were present and there were no jurors to try the cases.

It was reported that summonses were issued for 880 jurors but only 114 were served and some of them did notattend or sent in excuses.

One of the cases which had to be adjourned was that of Steven Grant, 37-year-old businessman of Queen Hill in St. Andrew, who is facing a retrial.

Shot 13 times

Grant is charged with the murder of 19-year-old Dunoon Technical student Kymani Bailey.

Bailey was shot 13 times in a car park in New Kingston on April 18, 1999. Bailey and a relative had gone to the Asylum Nightclub to celebrate his birthday. Bailey left the club saying he was going outside to urinate and was then fatally shot.

Ms. Justice Paulette Williams has put off the case until tomorrow with the hope that more jurors will be available.

The case of Ricardo Walters who is charged with three counts of murder was adjourned until today to get three more jurors to complete the panel. Yesterday, nine of the 12 jurors were empanelled but Mrs. Justice Carol Beswick, after adjourning the matter several times to see if more jurors were available, had to apologise to the jurors and ask them to return to court today.

Ms. Justice Beswick ordered that two jurors who were absent were to be fined $1,000 each. The case of 86-year-old botanist George Proctor, who is charged with conspiracy to murder his 63-year-old wife, was put off to June 13 because of insufficient jurors.

Proctor is charged jointly with Glenmore Fillington, 41, of Lyn Avenue in Christiana, Manchester.

It is being alleged that Proctor paid Fillington $90,000 to murder his wife.

barbara_gayle@gleanerjm.com