Rayon Williams (Appellant) v The King (Respondent) (Jamaica) No 2

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2025/0101

Jurisdiction

Jamaica

Parties

Appellant(s)

Rayon Williams

Respondent(s)

The King

Issue

(a) Did the Court of Appeal err in refusing to admit fresh evidence of Miss Moore’s recantation? (b) Did the Court of Appeal misconstrue section 16(2) of the Judicature (Supreme Court) Act in finding that the court reporter is not obliged to record the closing speech of the prosecution? (c) Can the issue of the Appellant’s right to a fair trial be decided in the absence of a transcript of the closing speech? (d) Was there misconduct by the prosecution in the course of the trial besides the remarks made in the closing speech? Did this alleged misconduct breach the Appellant’s right to a fair trial?

Facts

On 6 March 2013, the Appellant was convicted of the murder of Hugh Cover (the first conviction). On 22 March 2013, the Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment. Mr Cover was killed after being struck to the back of his head. His head was severed from his neck after his death. On 19 June 2014, the Appellant was convicted of the murder of Geraldo Campbell (the second conviction). Mr Campbell was shot outside a shop in the parish of Saint Catherine. On 26 June 2014, the Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment. It was further ordered that his sentence shall run concurrently with the sentence he was serving for the murder of Mr Cover. The primary eyewitness in respect of both murders was Miss Sharon Moore, the Appellant’s aunt. The Appellant’s case is that Miss Moore lied in evidence because she believed the Appellant had stolen her gun. The Appellant appealed the first conviction to the Court of Appeal which dismissed the appeal on 10 May 2017, with reasons handed down on 23 March 2020. The Appellant separately appealed the second conviction which the Court of Appeal dismissed on 29 July 2022. In respect of the second conviction, the Appellant relied on recantation evidence by Miss Moore. The Appellant now seeks leave to appeal both convictions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Date of issue

6 October 2025

Case origin

PTA

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