Clyde Anderson Grazette v the Queen [2009] CCJ 2 (AJ)
By Monique Scott, Norman Manley Law School
The Caribbean Court of Justice dismissed the appeal of Mr Clyde Anderson Grazette who was convicted for murder in Barbados. The prosecution’s case was mainly based on DNA evidence linking Grazette to the death of a young woman. Grazette argued that the judge was wrong to allow this evidence to be used at the trial because there was inconsistent testimony from the prosecution’s witnesses on what occurred between the time of the taking of the DNA sample in Barbados and the testing by the FBI in the USA ( that is, the ‘chain of custody’). In particular, Grazette complained about significant differences in the evidence dealing with the number of DNA samples taken, the labelling and packaging of the samples and the handing over to the FBI for testing.
The CCJ rejected these arguments. It held that any inconsistencies in the chain of custody could be easily reconciled. The court held that the
