Appeals court orders new trial for Jamaican driver in the US
May 12, 2006
HOUSTON (AP) - A Jamaican truck driver convicted in a deadly human smuggling attempt will be retried and could face the death penalty after a federal appeals court sided with prosecutors' complaints of how the jury reached its verdict.
Tyrone Williams, who lived in upstate New York, was convicted last year in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants crammed into his airtight tractor-trailer. More than 70 immigrants inside his stifling truck screamed and clawed at the walls before he abandoned them 100 miles (160 kilometres) southwest of Houston.
Williams was spared the death penalty because the jury could not agree before sentencing on whether he bears direct responsibility for the deaths.
But a three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that in order for a jury to reach a correct verdict, those questions must be answered.
"We conclude that the jury failed to convict Williams of any offense," US Circuit Judge Patrick Higginbotham wrote.
Williams' attorney said he would appeal to the Supreme Court.
Author: AP
Source: Jamaica Observer
