Paula Llewellyn, the director of public prosecutions (DPP), says her department will not leave cases to die from old age because of a failure to locate witnesses.

Her office has published more than a dozen advertisements in the print media since April, seeking the public's assistance in locating witnesses.

Some of the advertisements contained up to five names of witnesses who are needed. "The public interest demands that we do not give up," Llewellyn told The Gleaner.

The DPP said, "Most, if not all, of the witnesses have been proving elusive," while others may have been unaware that they were still required to attend court. However, with the burden of proof being on the Crown to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubt, Llewellyn said that her team had a duty to use all legal means necessary to get witnesses to attend court.

She noted that it was not a new phenomenon to publish advertisements in the print media to request assistance in finding witnesses.

"The Office of the DPP normally resorts to printing ads when some considerable time and several trial dates have passed and the witnesses have proven elusive," she asserted.

She added that once a statement is of a high quality it may be admitted into evidence in the absence of the witness who gave it.

prescribed circumstances

The Evidence Act makes provision for the use of such a statement under prescribed circumstances. Section 31D of the Evidence Act says a statement made by a person in a document shall be admissible in criminal proceedings as evidence of any fact of which direct oral evidence by him would be admissible if it is proved to the satisfaction of the court.

The act also states that providing that such person "is dead, is unfit, by reason of his bodily or mental condition to attend as a witness; is outside of Jamaica and it is not reasonably practicable to secure his attendance; cannot be found after all reasonable steps have been taken to find him; or is kept away from the proceedings by threats of bodily harm and no reasonable steps can be taken to protect the person."

Llewellyn said the public interest requires that a case is not dropped when the witnesses cannot be found, and said she was prepared to use the best means to keep the wheels of justice turning.

kimesha.walters@gleanerjm.com