Luke Armstrong Wins on Appeal – Free to Go
ZBM has reported that Englishman Luke Armstrong has had his conviction and sentence overturned for causing the death of Winston Burrows by the Court of Appeal.
The 25 year old former guest worker is now free.
He was previously convicted of causing the August 5, 2009 car crash that left one man dead and two people injured. The jury found him guilty by unanimous verdict in approximately two hours of deliberations, and Mr. Armstrong was sentenced to 15 months in prison in November 2009.
The Arctic Air Conditioning employee was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving, two counts of causing injury by dangerous driving and one of driving without a valid licence. In April 2009, Mr. Armstrong was driving a heavy truck [which he was not licensed to drive] when it collided with a car being driven by Mr. Burrows.
His parents, David and Teresa Armstrong, launched a campaign to raise money for his legal fees. His father had stated he believed his son’s conviction was “political” motivated by him being a “guest worker”. They launched a website which appears to be defunct now, however you can view a cached copy here
A Facebook page was launched calling for his freedom, which to date has attracted over 1,700 supporters. Text from the page follows below:
The prosecution had no evidence that Luke caused the crash. He was convicted on circumstancial evidence, they alledged that he was close to the white line at some point but cannot say which side of the road the initial impact was.
The local man who died in the accident was PARYLISED IN HIS LEFT HAND from a previous RTA was driving a RIGHT HAND DRIVE MANUAL vehicle, how was he changing gears? Toxicology reports prove he had COCAINE in his system and was found to be 3 TIMES OVER THE LEGAL LIMIT OF ALCOHOL!! and NO LICENCE or INSURANCE..how did Luke end up in prison in Bermuda?
44 year old Bermudian Winston “Yogi” Burrows lost his life in the accident. In a truly tragic tale, Mr. Burrows had been trapped in the vehicle as it burst into flames.
Also injured were fellow passengers Honest Masawi and mother of three Evelyn Rewan. Ms. Rewan sustained broken bones including her neck and knee, and a severe head laceration. Her injuries were so severe she was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital, and took many months to recuperate.
The three man appeals panel’s reasoning for the reversal was that the jury was not correctly directed on the definition of ‘death by dangerous driving’ by the trial judge.
ZBM News reports that they understand 25 year old Mr. Armstrong, who was represented by Saul Froomkin, is headed back to the UK.
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Category: Accidents and fires, All, Crime, News
