Court of Appeal overturns Kenneth Pottinger murder conviction

An auto mechanic who was serving a life sentence for murder has had that conviction wiped away by the Court of Appeal, which ruled on Wednesday.

Kenneth Pottinger was found guilty in September 2019 for the killing of Devarowe Powell, who was fatally shot on St John's Road in Spanish Town on February 12, 2008. He was sentenced in January 2020 to life imprisonment, with parole eligibility set after 23 years. Since that sentence, he had spent more than six years in custody.

At the trial, King's Counsel Peter Champagnie argued that the case ought to have been taken from the jury because the identification evidence was weak, but the trial judge left it for the jury's consideration. In the appeal, attorney Samoi Campbell said the conviction was unsafe, citing material problems with the prosecution's identification evidence and with the judge's directions to the jury. Court of Appeal President Justice Marva McDonald-Bishop, Justice Nicole Simmons and Justice Marcia Dunbar-Green made up the panel that allowed the appeal and quashed the conviction on those issues. Written reasons from the court are expected later.