Hanover crash, domestic violence push and Buchanan appeal lead Jamaica news

A 75-year-old Hanover woman, identified in the report as Sonia Freighter, died Friday after a Toyota Fortuner in which she was travelling struck a tree on the Cops main road in the parish. The crash reportedly happened about 10:00 a.m. Freighter and the male driver, believed to be her husband, were taken to hospital, where she later died. His condition was not stated. Police investigations are continuing.

Hanover police are also moving to deepen public education on domestic violence through revived neighbourhood watch groups. Superintendent Andrew Nish, who heads the Hanover Police Division, told a recent Hanover Municipal Corporation meeting that major crimes were trending downward, but domestic violence had become a sharper concern for the police.

Corporal Monique Bartley, the Jamaica Constabulary Force neighbourhood watch coordinator for Hanover, said the issue is being raised during community sessions, including a sensitisation meeting held Wednesday on the grounds of the Hopewell police station. She said the programme also covers matters such as the Road Traffic Act, dispute resolution, spirit licence applications and permits for events.

Bartley said the Hanover police Community Safety and Security branch and the neighbourhood watch unit want at least six active groups operating across the parish by year-end. The areas being targeted are Hopewell, Sandy Bay, Trial Gardens, Echer, Lucy and Rumble. She said residents have been receptive and urged communities to keep working with the police to improve safety.

In a separate legal development, the Court of Appeal has set aside a professional misconduct finding against attorney-at-law and Portland Eastern Member of Parliament Isat Buchanan over comments made in 2020 about then Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn. The court found that the General Legal Council disciplinary committee acted unfairly and breached natural justice.

The unanimous ruling overturned the October 1, 2022 finding and sanctions imposed on October 22, 2022, and ordered the GLC to pay Buchanan's legal costs. The appeal was heard last November by Justices Plett Williams, Marcia Dunbar-Green and Evan Brown.

The case stemmed from a November 2020 Loop News interview while Buchanan represented dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel, whose given name is Adidja Palmer, in a Privy Council appeal. The court said Buchanan had not been properly notified that the sub judice rule would be used against him, and also found the committee misapplied that rule. It declined to send the matter back for rehearing.