A nine-member jury has found David St. Jean guilty of murdering Clement “Johnson” James – a 53 year old man of Good Hope.
In an unsworn statement given by the accused last week ,St. Jean told the court that he was walking on the Indian River Bridge about 3:30pm on Monday 20th September, 2010 when he observed James on the opposite side of the bridge “staring at me in a sexual manner while holding his crotch and licking his lips”.
St. Jean claimed that he walked across the bridge to warn the deceased when a scuffle ensued between them.
The accused claimed that he was defending himself.
Attorney for the accused Bernadette Lambert in her address to the jury suggested that there were various inconsistencies in statements given by the Prosecution’s star witness.
She urged the jury to question whether the story given by that witness was really true.
Additionally, Lambert declared that her client was acting in a manner of self defense and had no intention to kill James.
“No intention, no murder!” she emphasised.
The attorney also stated that St Jean was not the only one responsible for the death of the deceased and indicated to the jury that the deceased remained at the scene and hospital for a significant amount of time without receiving the medical attention that he required for his survival.
However her arguments did not appear to convince the members of the jury who returned with a guilty verdict after deliberating for two hours.
Martin James – the brother of Clement James who was also a state witness welcomed the verdict.
“The judgment was correct. I believe that it was done correctly; my brother did not deserve what happened to him and what took place today, I am very pleased of the Lord first and also to the jury; those who sat and listened and I am very happy that they said guilty”.
He also indicated that young people should respect the lifestyle of others.
“Young people suppose to really look at themselves as other people have life and they need to respect people. They need to realize that they are people just like them and my conviction is not yours and these are the things that we really need to take close note of,”Martin said.
“Young men and young women ought to realize that there’s life, he is not a goat, that’s a man so we need to respect people,” he added.
The judge ordered that a pre-sentencing report be done by 18th June 2012.
Sentencing was adjourned to 22 June, 2012.
He killed a man just because he looked at him and made some sort of face? It takes two to tangle. His simple reaction should have been not to keep looking at the man, turn away and walk away. He should have played a game of pretense by pretending that he did not observe the man staring at him. Now, he may spend the rest of his life in prison. Was it worth it taking a man’s life and forfeiting his freedom just because of a stare?
One thing we cannot prevent people from staring at us or making faces at us for whatever reason. They have eyes. The simple thing to do is to turn away and avoid the person. If it is someone whom we know, keep avoiding the person. If he had done that he would not be facing imprisonment. He is fortunate there is no more hanging in DA.
If I happen to see people at any time staring at me, without a word I will turn away and with a serious face and pretend that I did not see the person. This should deter them from staring at me. If we were to murder everyone who stared at us, I would think that the majority of the population would be dead.
BUT THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU A REASON TO CONFRONT AND FIGHT SOMEONE, TO REACH TO A POINTS TO KILL HIM, WHAT EVER HE DOES WITH HIS SEL IT IS HIS PROBLEM, HOWEVER I JUST WANT TO SAY DOMINICANS , YOUR HANDS ARE TOO FAST, STOP HITTING
As I had already predicted you would be found guilty, you cannot expect to kill someone for no reason and after the fact fabricate a story that does not add up or make any sense.Job well done jury and the Dominica justice system.
he will certainly find what he doesnt like in the prison.He will be the new girl on the block.
i knew clement and very well and hearing the defendant saying that everybody know he was Hiv SO DID YOU SLEEP WITH HIM SO YOU WAS WORRY about yourself so that why you kill him i am saying to justices brooks he is of good sense give him life to death
Well enough with it stupes.
“Every man, my brother. Every woman, my sister.
Every old man, my grandfather. Every old woman, my grandmother.
Every crying child, my child. Every wounded soul, my soul.” RIP Clement.Justice is yours…
And the sentencing is what? 15 yrs? Hope this family gets justice.this young man should be put behind bars for life.let him rot in jail. Need to make more examples like the carib guy they sentenced to life.
My eyes are open and my ears waiting for the sentencing, i do hope that the same sentencing the guy received a few month ago will apply to this st jean guy
Taking someone’s life just by looking at you, man this is a sorry excuse,
What I strongly suggest is the construction of a new prison. A facility able to house minimum of a thousand mal boo woes. Construction costs can be kept low by using the current residents at the stock farm prison as free labor.
@ Dat Guy
As a child I recall they would clean and weed the Government House yard, streets and culverts in those days. They were supervised by the Wardens. What are they doing today? They must earn their keep. Therefore keep them busy.
st. jean u looking like a real bad man in that pic…they say in patois”tout layta ka paye met yo”-you pay for your foolish arrogance..sort!!!
The kind of excuse you hear in court ; one guy from marigot said the reason hewhy was accusesd of sexthe with athe sheep is becausethe he was peeing and a sheep reverse on him
you gotta be shitting me.. someone said that. he must be a fool. i don’t see myself making up such foolish excuses for my actions. smh
Ca ous pa vlais vwe
If you know the man gay what were you looking at him for in the first place? How do you know that these gestures were for you and it wasn’t you alone standing there? You just figure out the man sell you out in front of your friends so you want to beat him. Some of you just playing bad man to cover up. lol
justice justice for a free society justice for u and me
The attorney also stated that St Jean was not the only one responsible for the death of the deceased and indicated to the jury that the deceased remained at the scene and hospital for a significant amount of time without receiving the medical attention that he required for his survival. Is she serious? The judge should have asked her who stabbed the victim and where did she go to school.
No one gives life, so they should nota take another life. This young chap behaviour was never accepted in society. The bible says the tongue has power and what you confess is what you possess Killing was top on his agenda in life. Mr clement sexual orientations was what his lawyers used to get him out, but it bacfired in her faces. Lawyers stop teachers your clients to DOUBLE LIE. Mr Martin was on the northern side of the bridge going on his daily business when St Jean left from the Tourism office side of the road and went with a stick with his intention to kill Clement and the rest is history. Now he telling me the lawyer making him lie in his teeth like that? AlA.God did not say that. You doh like battyman they must die? So you do it?Now you saying he hold crotch and make sweet eyes for you? Man you do the crime, pay the time. I will still pray for you.
wat i can’t understand whit them felers that call there self gangster if so doe like batty why all u always coming contact wit dem so dat mak u a batty boy 2 i personally dont like dem so i stay far from dem
Donot get me wrong.i am happy that this guy got a guilty conviction cause i dont believe people should get away with the slaying of fellow human beings however,i believe that his defence lost its momentum.from following this case i really thought that this person would have gotten a lesser sentense,but alas,towards the ending,i was less than impressed at the job of the defense.dont get me wrong,she was good but not great.had they continued on the initial path,they might have been successful but the latter strategy didnt have the strength and thrust of the initial argument.better luck next time miss lambert.
THAT BOY IS A LYRE BECUASE NIEGHBOUR DONT MAKE NOISE WITH PPL HE HARDLY SPEAKES AND AS FOR STARTING AND LICKING MOUTH TOTAL RUBBISH HE JUST MAKING STORIES TO JUSTIFY WHAT HE DID THE POOR MAN ………….. DO CARE WHAT U SAY GOD NOT SLEEPING YOU WILL PAY …………LET GOD BE TEH JURY GUIDE ON THIS ONE
Hang him on the Indian River Bridge !!!!
utter rubbish! = 2 words, LOL! Lock up that dude, please. Killing the person because of gestures towards you, wow! What happened to sticking the middle digit @ him?
Hate crimes should not exist after Martin Luther King fought so hard for human rights, hope others learn from this young man’s mistake.
Not a mistake! He had a choice and chose to kill!
I do hope at sentencing the judge gives him what he deserves. I do not support the gay life style, but that being said I respect people who chooses to live the gay life style. Because if they do not repent and give up this life style, according to the word of God they are not going to be saved. It does not give me the right to hurt or even going as far as killing someone because they they are gay. They can make all the gestures they want toward me it doesn’t bother me. In closing simply because one licks his tongue, wink his eye or even blow a kiss towards me, it does not give me the right to kill him.
DA citizen in the us i do agree with you 100% everyman have a right to there own destiny and that does not give a man the right to kill a man for what a chooses to be its there life there choice,now i hope that young man learn a serious listen the fact that he CROSS the brigde and confront the man you were askin for trouble now i hope you can deal with that trouble you got yourself into.
How does someone lick their own tongue? Just wondering because that sure would take some serious skills.
Justice for Clement and the entire country!
Mr.St. Jean should have known that Clement would have never hurt anyone. Further more, even if he had made sexual gestures; so what? A little bugga would not hurt you. No you among in stocky where I am sure you are getting more than a wink and a smile. I hope you get the Death Panalty!
it is time for we people to think and realise that;our opinion is not gospel,we are all there enjoying our 24/7and for our action, we are responsable.this is a typical scene among yuots garther somewhere, one always think he is macho and need to pick on someone vunarable to bully;
this is a case of bullying and this guy seems like he was high out of his mind and acted as such.
Bad man out of style….can’t just kill people and come up with lame excuses…Justice system at its best
DNO…..did the Judge order pre-sentence report for both? I believe she ordered a pre-sentence report from the Social Welfare Dept. that is to include victim impact statement….this is where the parties on both sides are interviewed…..correct that
Kaval! Think this lawyer has to rethink his strategy, of having his client lie lie lie.
Thank you. This is a positive result. I was nearby at the time and I knew both people. The defendant had a long time hatred for Clement. When I arrived on the scene on the Indian River Bridge, what I saw was so horrible and revolting.
If this verdict had gone the other way. Any man even suspected of being gay in Dominica could be killed and his supposed homosexuality would be used as justification for the murder.
At least this verdict proves that we are not that uncivilized. I fully agree with Clement’s brother’s statement.
I hope he gets a proper sentencing. His crime was blatant and completely unprovoked. I don’t know what is happening to these boys. All they want is fast money and street fame. Killing for no reason. I hope the young women who make them feel most desirable is taking note.
Yes we need to respect life, very sad but maybe people will wake up and treat each other with the same kindness and mercy that the Lord has shown to us.
i have only one word for the defendant’s story – utter rubbish!
THATS TWO WORDS
True! LOL
“utter rubbish is 2 words sir/madame
That’s two words. lol. But you are so right.
that`s two words