BREAKING NEWS: David Swain Wins Appeal Against Murder Conviction

[Lookmanohands]

@nolatom

Is there a transcript available anywhere showing exactly what the judge ordered to the jury? I find it mind boggling that a judge would tell a jury to basically ignore the defense while they deliberate. But I do agree it was the legal/sound/logical/morally obligatory thing for the appellate courts to do.

 

[nolatom]

No idea. But logically there would have to be one for the appeals court to know what was said. Or if there weren't, then there may have been a written record of at least the judge's instructions to the jury.

I wasn't there and don't know. so I would defer to others who were, and do.

 

[John Petko]

....courts don't find you "innocent", just "not (proven) guilty".

That's the crux of this whole thing that it seems his supporters don't get. It's "smells fishy"; Something isn't right, apparently they aren't able to dot all the T's the right way; It still doesn't mean he didn't do it. God will "sort it out" and he will get what he deserves!

 

[nolatom]

Well, yeah, but it may turn out that he deserves to be welcomed into heaven if in fact he didn't do it. Or the opposite if he did. We don't really know--at least I don't.

 

[SadiesMom]

The decision isn't online yet - they seem to be running about a week behind in posting the High Courts' decisions.

This article is probably the one that explains the judges' decision in the most detail that I can find online:
David Swain walks free

David Swain, the Rhode Island man convicted in 2009 of murdering his wife Shelley Tyre during a 1999 wreck-diving excursion off Cooper Island, walked away a free man after more than four years in prison Thursday. Minutes before, the Court of Appeal ruled that jury instructions given during his trial made the verdict “unsafe.”

Mr. Swain has always maintained his wife died as the result of an accident.

“I feel elated,” he said after walking out of the Commercial Court building on Main Street with his daughter Jennifer Swain Bloom.

Ola Mae Edwards, speaking for a three-justice panel who heard Mr. Swain’s appeal Wednesday, accepted defence attorney Dr. J. S. Archibald QC’s argument that Justice Indra Hariprashad-Charles’ summation to the jury effectively withdrew the defence of accident, saying it had no place in the trial.

Ms. Hariprashad-Charles also failed to instruct the jury in how to deal with deposition evidence from a Rhode Island wrongful death trial in which Mr. Swain was found liable for Ms. Tyre’s death, Ms. Edwards said in reading from the court’s judgment.

“She gave the jury no assistance as to how to use and evaluate this evidence,” Ms. Edwards said.

The appellate justices declined to order a new trial, citing the amount of time Mr. Swain has spent in prison. They also cited Dr. Archibald’s arguments that it would be difficult to recall defence witnesses given the amount of time that has passed since Ms. Tyre’s death.

 

[SadiesMom]

David Swain walks free, Court of Appeal overturns 25-year sentence | BVI News

David Swain, the US citizen who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for drowning his wife on a scuba-diving trip on March 12, 1999 in the BVI is now a free man.

“He did win the matter. He is a free man,” said a representative from the law firm representing Swain.

Hon. Ola Mae Edwards, the presiding Judge, in handing down her decision has also granted a defense request not to order a re-trial. This brings the 12-year-old case to a complete halt. Swain spent four of those 12 years behind bars.

David Swain, represented by the J.S. Archibald legal team, appealed his conviction in the Court of Appeal on Tuesday (September 29). Today they were successful as the team convinced the Court of Appeal to overturn the 25-year sentence.
Hon. Edwards noted in her summations that judge who presided over the case in 2009, failed to present a fair case to the jury and deliver balanced instructions.

David Swain says he plans to return to his home in Rhode Island in the USA at the earliest convenience.

Background

Swain was found guilty of murdering his wife, Shelley Tyre, by a nine-member jury on October 27, 2009.
Tyre drowned in the vicinity of a dive site called the ’Twin Tugs’ off Cooper Island on March 12, 1999 where she and Swain had gone diving with each other. During the three-week long trial of Swain the Crown described the act as a “near-perfect crime”, citing money as one of the possible motives.

Swain’s lawyers objected throughout the trial citing a lack of physical evidence on the part of the prosecution. The convict maintained his innocence, while his defense team put forward various theories which could have lead to the death of Tyre.

A website was also created by Swain’s family and close friends to share information and declare his innocence.
DavidSwainisInnocent
BVI News Online will provide more information in subsequent updates.

 

[AfterDark]

Wonder if RI will charge him under the same assumptions that Gabe Watson was charged in Alabama? Seems to have a similarity to me in regards to the concept of planning a crime in one jurisdiction and carrying it out in another.

The answer would be no because there is not enough evidence to convict. Thay's why they had to cheat to convict him in the BVI and why he's free now.

 

[SadiesMom]

Update: "I Have To Now Pick Up The Pieces" - Swain - BVIPlatinum.com | BVIDailyNews.com

"I can now breathe a little free air, go for a walk, go home and try to pick up the pieces and go on". Those were the words of United States citizen David Swain today, September 29 after the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal quashed his murder conviction.

Outside the Commercial Court on Main Street, a free David Swain accompanied by his daughter Jennifer Swain Bloom, told BVI Platinum News that he is happy over the decision and will be returning to Rhode Island.

"I feel elated. Some truth finally came out about some mistakes that were made by the prosecution...I am going back to Rhode Island where my family is and my home," he stated.

Swain, 55, was unanimously found guilty in October 2009 for the murder of his wife Shelley Tyre in the BVI waters on March 12, 1999.

His daughter, who from the inception had stated that her father was innocent, said she knew that one day the justice system would deliver.

"I never gave up because he is my father and I believed in him, and I have known for the whole time that he was innocent and I knew that the system would eventually deliver," Bloom said as she tried to hold back tears.

During the Court of Appeal hearing, Swain was represented by the law firm JS Archibald & Co. led by Dr. JS Archibald, QC and and Director of Public Prosecutions Mrs. Elizabeth Hinds appeared for the Prosecution.

During the murder trial in 2009, the crown was represented by former DPP Mr. Terrence Williams, former Principal Crown Counsel Mrs. Grace Henry-McKenzie and Crown Counsel Sarah Benjamin. Swain was represented by Hayden St. Clair-Douglas and Patrick Thompson. The trial was heard before High Court Judge Indra Hariprashad-Charles.

Meanwhile, in handing down the Court of Appeal's decision, Hon. Ola Mae Edwards stated that the prosecution's case was dependent on circumstantial evidence.

The prosecution had stated that Swain wanted Tyre dead mainly for financial gains and to pursue a relationship with another woman, who also testified on behalf of the crown during the 2009 trial.

Hon. Edwards said the sitting judge in the trial failed to put a fair case to the jurors during her summation and that the judge's summation was focused mainly on the prosecution's case.

Hon. Edwards further stated that the High Court Judge in her summation to jurors said that the prosecution had stated that the woman died at the hands of her husband, while the defense stated that it was due to drowning which stemmed from medical reasons. However, in her final direction, she told the jurors that they heard all about self defense and accident, but neither of which have any place in the trial.

She said the jurors did not receive proper direction from the Judge.

Hon. Edwards also stated that the High Court Judge agreed with DPP Hinds, who had stated that it would have been confusing for the High Court Judge to direct the jurors on an alternative of a lesser offence of manslaughter.

Hon. Edwards noted that Dr. Archibald QC had also asked of the Court of Appeal not to order a re-trial and the Court of Appeal will grant that request.

An order was then made for no re-trial and the Court of Appeal Judge noted that it is twelve years since the alleged incident took place and he has already spent four years in prison, including time on remand.

 

[AfterDark]

....courts don't find you "innocent", just "not (proven) guilty".

That's the crux of this whole thing that it seems his supporters don't get. It's "smells fishy"; Something isn't right, apparently they aren't able to dot all the T's the right way; It still doesn't mean he didn't do it. God will "sort it out" and he will get what he deserves!

It does mean that it couldn't be proved he did it and he's free. What smells fishy is a weathly family using infulence, money and theroy, to get a convition in another country because they knew in a fair trial here at home they couldn't. That is the fish you smell you just think it's something eles.

 

[Thalassamania]

It does mean that it couldn't be proved he did it and he's free. What smells fishy is a weathly family using infulence, money and theroy, to get a convition in another country because they knew in a fair trial here at home they couldn't. That is the fish you smell you just think it's something eles.

Correct me if I am wrong.

1. Swain was found responsible for the death of his wife in a civil trial in Rhode Island.
2. The burden of proof in a civil trial (proof by a preponderance of the evidence or proof by clear and convincing evidence) is marginally less than that in a criminal proceeding (beyond a reasonable doubt, that no other logical explanation can be derived from the facts except that the defendant committed the crime, thereby overcoming the presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty.).
3. Thus you can hardly claim that his criminal conviction being overturned on a technicality is any sort of a determination or even indication of innocence, he was, in fact, found guilty by a preponderance of the evidence or by clear and convincing evidence.