Court Grants – A judge last week ordered the immediate release of Dexter Scotland of Willikies Village, days after his murder charge in the death of Jahfari Isaac, of the same village, was dismissed.
Court Grants Dexter Scotland
Last week, Justice Ann Marie Smith upheld a no-case submission at the close of Scotland’s trial. But the prosecution immediately signalled its intention to appeal, and Scotland was sent back to prison to await the outcome unless he applied for and was granted bail.
His lawyer, Andrew O’Kola, took a different route. Rather than seeking bail, he asked the court to free Scotland outright, arguing that once Justice Smith upheld the no-case submission and entered a not-guilty verdict on July 14th, the warrant holding him in custody lost its legal force , regardless of the Crown’s stated plan to appeal that same day.
The case echoes that of murder accused Jahciba Shoy, whose charges were dismissed just days earlier. Unlike Scotland, Shoy was returned to prison pending the Crown’s appeal, and his lawyer applied for bail to have him released.
O’Kola argued that Justice Smith’s ruling itself was enough to end Scotland’s detention, appeal or not. He also pointed to the not-guilty verdict, the presumption of innocence, the narrow grounds of the Crown’s appeal, and Scotland’s ties to his community and conduct throughout the case as reasons for release, even if the court chose to treat the matter as a bail application instead. Scotland’s lawyer gave assurances that his client would attend every appeal hearing and surrender immediately should a retrial be ordered.
The judge agreed and ordered his release.
The case dates back to a shooting in Willikies on June 4th, 2023. Isaac died in hospital nine days later. Justice Smith ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove the shooting was unlawful, siding with the defence’s argument that Scotland acted in self-defence after Isaac reached toward his waist. Police say Scotland made that claim in his own statement, admitting he approached Isaac while carrying an illegal firearm.
Prosecutors argued that no weapon was ever found on Isaac and that the shooting appeared retaliatory — a question they felt should have been left to a jury. The defence countered that the Crown never proved what actually led to the shooting, pointing to an earlier fight, acknowledged by prosecutors themselves, in which Isaac knocked Scotland unconscious.
