🔨 Woman acquitted due to lawyer's inappropriate behaviour
👩⚖️ Court of Appeal overturns conviction after evidence of sexual harassment by defence attorney is presented
A Jamaican woman, Aisha Jamilah English, who was convicted of wounding in 2022, has been acquitted by the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal due to inappropriate behaviour by her defence attorney. English was found guilty of stabbing a colleague at the beauty parlour where she worked and was sentenced to 21 months in jail. However, she appealed the conviction, claiming she had been sexually harassed by her lawyer, Keith Myers, and that he had not properly represented her because she had rejected his advances. English's appeal included a series of sexually charged messages, or "sexts", sent by Myers, which she had saved and submitted as part of her appeal. 📱
The appeal was not contested by the crown, with senior prosecuting counsel Scott Wainwright stating that the messages spoke for themselves. Although the crown could have argued against some of the grounds for the appeal, such as Myers not arguing that English had acted in self-defence, the inappropriate messages supported English's claim of sexual harassment. Wainwright also stated that a retrial was not in the public interest as English had already served six months of her 21-month sentence. The Court of Appeal confirmed that the case against English had been dismissed and she was free to go. They will complete their written judgment outlining their reasons for allowing the appeal before the end of the current session. ⚖️
Not all of the messages from Myers or the extent of his alleged inappropriate behaviour were read out or detailed in the appeal court. However, Simon Csoka KC, the UK attorney who represented English during the appeal, outlined some of the communication for the public record. The defence lawyer had used a number of clear euphemisms that suggested his sexual interest in his client, even when she was expressing her discomfort and concern that if she didn’t do as he wanted, he would not properly represent her. Myers had submitted an affidavit under oath refuting the accusations and dismissing the claims as "filth". 📜
