Justice Brassington Reynolds yesterday aborted the murder trial of Joanna Danhai, accused of murdering her two children, after a Stabroek News (SN) report transgressed reporting rules pertaining to the voir dire that was being held.
On Monday, a voir dire (trial within a trial) commenced to determine whether a caution statement should be admitted into evidence. SN, in its edition the following day, had reported the voir dire was being conducted and included information that should not have been carried as the matter was being conducted out of the hearing of the jury.
Stabroek News Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud yesterday expressed deep regret over the report which caused the aborting of the trial. He said the report had been careless in its reference to the voir dire but there had never been any intention to breach the rules governing reportage on a voir dire. He apologized to the court and the families involved in the case.
Justice Reynolds yesterday requested the presence of the SN reporter in his court room. He said he had initially intended for SN to show reason why it should not be held in contempt of court.
However, the judge said that after reading another news article which referred to SN’s error he realized that “other dynamics” were involved and he would accept the newspaper’s apology for the error.
He urged that more care should be taken in reporting on such matters because even if the court were to warn the jury to disregard newspaper articles it would not always work. There is always the “human factor” to be considered, Justice Reynolds stated, while addressing the SN representatives in court yesterday.
The Guyana Chronicle (GC) reported yesterday that Justice Reynolds during Tuesday’s court proceedings was “critical of a report in the Stabroek News that related to the publication of what took place at a voir dire”. Despite SN’s Tuesday article the voir dire continued that afternoon before the judge and evidence was taken from other witnesses. It wasn’t until yesterday morning that the decision to abort the trial was made.
Attorneys-at-law Zammina Ally, Latchmie Rahamar and Rhondel Weever, were leading the state’s case. Danhai, formerly of Farm, East Bank Essequibo, was charged with the murders of her nine-year-old daughter Keisha and her seven-year-old son Jamal. It is alleged that between August 30 and 31, 2005 the accused murdered her children. A new date will have to be set for this trial.
