Rayon Williams (Appellant) v The King (Respondent) (Jamaica) No 1

Case summary

Case ID

JCPC/2025/0102

Jurisdiction

Jamaica

Parties

Appellant(s)

Rayon Williams

Respondent(s)

The King

Issue

(a) Did the trial judge fail to direct the jury that Miss Moore’s evidence is tainted by improper motive and contradicts the expert medical evidence? (b) Did the Court of Appeal err in finding that the trial judge’s failure to issue a good character direction and the inadequate identification directions did not amount to a miscarriage of justice? (c) Can the Appellant rely on fresh evidence which allegedly undermines the credibility of Miss Moore’s evidence? (d) Did the Court of Appeal err in not deducting the time spent in custody in remand from the Appellant’s sentence? (e) Did the Appellant receive inadequate representation from his defence counsel that infringed on his 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

7 October 2025

Case origin

PTA

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